Many German stadiums remained unusually quiet on match day 11, with the fan scene sending a clear signal against the measures planned by politicians – and now receiving backing from the highest level.
Bayern’s CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen has openly backed the fans‘ protests. At the home game against Freiburg, the South Curve remained silent for the first twelve minutes – a symbolic act against planned security measures by politicians. The protest action had a nationwide character: the curves in other stadiums also remained silent in protest against personalized tickets, facial recognition and blanket stadium bans.
After the match against Freiburg, Dreesen spoke of a complex issue that had to be taken seriously. As the 58-year-old emphasized, the planned changes to stadium security concepts were a sensitive intervention in fan culture: „I understand when fans protest against collective punishments. The German Football League and the German Football Association are in talks with politicians to prevent personalized tickets,“ he explained. „Anyone who wants them will inevitably ban standing areas and also the fan curve.“
„You can’t agree with that“
One particularly controversial point is the idea of making preventative stadium bans easier. According to reports, the Federal Ministry of the Interior is planning a new regulation that would allow such measures to be taken even without clear evidence. Dreesen made it clear what he thinks of this: „Essentially, it’s about turning this ‚can‘ regulation into a ‚must‘ regulation,“ he said.
„That’s fine if the perpetrator is clearly convicted. But if there is no clear conviction with transparent evidence, then it’s against a group. This group is then collectively investigated. And if stadium bans then have to be issued as a preventative measure, we can’t agree with that.“
Last weekend, fans from over 50 clubs had already demonstrated in Leipzig. They drew attention to their concerns with banners such as „Is this the future of soccer?“ The protest has now culminated in a coordinated silence at the start of Bundesliga matches – in the view of many fans, the most drastic warning of a break with corner culture.
The debate will gather further momentum at the conference of interior ministers at the beginning of December. Until then, the fans will continue to position themselves with full force against the measures under discussion.