Protests in Bundesliga stadiums: Accept it, it's now part of the game

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Christian Charisius/dpa

The mood in German football stadiums is currently threatening to change. The active fan scene of many clubs has been protesting against investors' entry into the German Football League (DFL) for weeks, and the reactions have been mostly understanding. But that seems to be over now. More and more coaches, officials and even players expressed their lack of understanding over the weekend.

True to the motto: “Now that’s okay.”

A little bit of protest is nice. Eating a chocolate thaler every now and then and throwing back a few tennis balls. Remote control cars and planes are even fun and creative. But now it’s “no fun” anymore (BVB sports director Sebastian Kehl). Fans are not “the heart of the game” (Fürth coach Alexander Zorniger). Football belongs to the players (Hannover coach Stefan Leitl). There is a self-dramatization taking place (Hoffenheim's sports director Alexander Rosen). It has “little to do with the football we love” (BVB striker Niclas Füllkrug).

One would like to say to the critics of the criticism: Accept it, the game interruptions are part of it at the moment, it is part of the game.

Because it can hardly be serious when players like Füllkrug or his teammate Emre Can complain that their game rhythm is lost due to the interruptions. This looks like an attempt to indirectly pass on poor performances to the fans. You are professionals, they would like to shout. Prepare for it and treat the interruptions like a half-time break.

There have been frequent protests in German stadiums. Just as often it subsided again after a short period of time, but this time it's different. The fans' endurance only has superficially to do with the investor deal. In the eyes of the fans, who, according to a recent survey, have the majority of those interested in football behind them, the deal is an example of the undesirable developments of the past few years, if not decades. It's about nothing less than the capitalization of football. A culture war has broken out in the Bundesliga.

This battle will not be decided by discussing who owns football. A little note to everyone involved: Football has many shareholders, and no one should rise above another.

It's about the 50+1 rule

Let's remind ourselves again what the current dispute is about. The DFL, an association of all 36 professional clubs in Germany, wants to strengthen digitalization and foreign marketing; those responsible see this as the greatest opportunity to grow financially. As a first step, money is needed to kick-start these issues. This money (one billion euros) will come from an investor who will receive eight percent of the media revenue for 20 years.

Now football fans (or paying customers) are generally skeptical of investors. But it's about more. It's about defending the so-called 50+1 rule, which stipulates that football clubs remain masters of their own house and cannot be overruled by investors or shareholders.

At the center of this debate is Martin Kind. The majority shareholder of the second division club Hannover 96 should have voted against it in the vote on the investor deal according to his club's instructions. A total of ten clubs voted against it, two abstained. If the information from these twelve clubs is to be believed, Kind would have turned against his own club. For many fans, that would be a nullification of the 50+1 rule.

In addition, many observers are wondering why the DFL had the vote of the 36 clubs carried out in secret. Were there any indications as to how close the result would be in the end?

The lack of willingness to talk on the part of the fan scene must also be assessed against this background. It's no longer about talking about red lines (kick-off times, match day planning, games abroad) or having the advantages of an investor deal (which definitely exist) explained. It's about transparency (which Hannover's child has been refusing to do for weeks). And the question is whether the secret vote can be repeated, this time not secretly: for more legal certainty, as a confidence-building measure.

You don't have to approve of everything that the fans are currently doing in German stadiums. Only Niclas Füllkrug's playing rhythm shouldn't play a role.