There is great anger among fans about the Bundesliga’s investor deal. There are protests in all stadiums.
Tennis balls, chocolate coins, insulting chants: The fans in the Bundesliga stadiums expressed their great displeasure with the German Football League’s investor deal with various actions. There was also a banner in all the arenas that read “We will not be part of your deal – screw DFL!” to read.
At the game in Bochum, Union Berlin fans caused the game to be interrupted when they threw a large number of tennis balls and chocolate coins onto the lawn after twelve minutes. Referee Sven Jablonski then interrupted the game for around four minutes until the pitch was cleared again. Bochum’s offensive player Takuma Asano took it with humor and ate a chocolate thaler.
There was also an interruption in Darmstadt after pyrotechnics were set off in the Wolfsburg block. Chocolate thalers were thrown here too. In addition, the Darmstadt fans took offense to their board for voting in favor of the deal. “Our vote should have prevented the DFL investor,” one poster said.
Clear the way for concrete negotiations
At the general meeting, the German Football League (DFL) received a mandate from the professional clubs to begin concrete negotiations with a strategic marketing partner. A financial investor should pay up to one billion euros for a percentage share of the TV revenue. The contract should have a maximum term of 20 years. This agreement is met with rejection by many club supporters.
In the first twelve minutes it remained quiet in many stadiums. The time span of twelve minutes was chosen in reference to the “twelfth man”, i.e. the fans.
Sky expert Dietmar Hamann expressed understanding for the DFL decision. “We have maintained the 50+1 for many years. You have to look at what is happening in England, Italy and France. There are private investors in there. At some point we have to open up in some way. I think the alternative would be “If it hadn’t gone through that the first and second leagues would separate,” said Hamann. Above all, he hopes for more professionalization, especially with regard to foreign marketing.
Source: Stern
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