More protests against investors interrupt matches in German football
Bundesliga and second-division matches in Germany on Saturday were again interrupted by fan protests against the entry of an investor into the German Football League (DFL).
Tennis balls were thrown by fans onto the pitch at Wolfsburg against Borussia Dortmund at various points of the game and Darmstadt v VfB Stuttgart was held up for 18 minutes by the supporter protests.
Hoffenheim's Bundesliga match with Union Berlin was also interrupted twice in the first half due to fans hurling tennis balls onto the pitch, leading to the teams going back into the dressing room for almost 10 minutes.
Fans at Mainz against Augsburg waited for the second half to cause chaos with tennis balls, while supporters at Heidenheim v Bayer Leverkusen kept their protests to the stands with placards and chants.
The DFL - which runs Germany's top two men's tiers - aims to boost its business model and Bundesliga marketing abroad through a deal with an external investor such as a private equity firm.
But German fans are generally against the investor plans as they believe the professional game will then put profit ahead of supporters and tradition.
The second division match between SC Paderborn and Holstein Kiel was earlier interrupted for around 30 minutes by fans.
The game between Hansa Rostock and SV Hamburg also came to a halt for a few minutes after remote controlled cars stormed onto the pitch along with smoke bombs early in the game. Stewards immediately removed the cars from the pitch.
In Paderborn, the game had to be stopped due to the constant throwing of tennis balls onto the pitch. The teams were sent to the locker rooms and there was a threat the match could be abandoned, but it resumed after some 30 minutes.
The DFL voted in December to bring in a strategic partner in a billion-euro ($1.08 billion) deal over a maximum 20 years for a share of the licensing revenue from the sale of media rights.
The decision, however, has led to major protests from fans who have thrown objects such as tennis balls onto the pitch during Bundesliga and second-division matches over recent weeks.
Several matches were close to being abandoned.
DFL managing directors Marc Lenz and Steffen Merkel hope that an escalation can be prevented.
"It's OK if we are peacefully reminded week after week how important it is to stay within the red lines in the negotiations. But if it concerns possible match cancellations: The clubs and we couldn't accept that," Lenz told Saturday's Süddeutsche Zeitung.
"We're counting on the fans, who dedicate so much to their club. We hope they recognize that football doesn't just belong to the fans, but also to the players, the coaches and the staff at the clubs," Merkel added.
However, the DFL doesn't fear any negative effects on the attractiveness of the league or negotiations with investors.
With regard to calls from some clubs - among them Cologne and Borussia Mönchengladbach - for a new vote on the matter, Merkel still doesn't see any great pressure to act.
So far, only a few clubs have publicly stated that they "might be in favour of a new vote for reasons of transparency. But that's currently no more than five or six of the 36 clubs and, to be honest, we haven't seen any signs of major movement behind the scenes so far," he said.
At the vote in December, the required two thirds majority was just reached when 24 clubs voted to bring in a strategic partner.
However, there has been intense speculation that Hanover managing director Martin Kind voted in favour although he was ordered by the club to oppose an investor. Kind has refused to disclose how he voted, saying the ballot was secret.
The DFL wants to finalize the investor deal before the tender for media rights for 2025-2029 starts in mid-April. Only one candidate, CVC Capital, is left, after fellow private equity firm Blackstone withdrew earlier this week.
Germany's 50+1 rules, which mean most clubs cannot be majority owned by one investor, led to the DFL looking at how it can boost revenues via a league-wide investment - similar to a deal with Spain's LaLiga.
