DFL CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke reacted angrily to criticism from Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann of the way German professional football is dealing with the issue of pyrotechnics in stadiums. “It cannot be denied that we have a problem. But I did not like the clear rhetoric. I also see many problems in politics and do not attack them every day. That was a bit too much,” Watzke told the “Bild” newspaper.
In an interview with “Sport-Bild”, Herrmann had called for a “massive distancing of professional clubs from violence and pyrotechnics” and threatened to play games behind closed doors if football did not get the problem under control. At the same time, the CSU politician suggested introducing personalized tickets in the Bundesliga, increasing stadium bans for rioters and game abandonments, as well as point deductions for clubs.
Summit planned for October
“I have already experienced that politicians have tried to cause major problems for football. I hope that we will not get to that point again,” said Watzke, referring to possible spectator bans by municipalities, which Herrmann had threatened. The DFL boss was referring to the games behind closed doors ordered by politicians during the Corona pandemic.
A summit meeting between politics and football is planned for mid-October, at which both sides want to speak frankly. Herrmann expects concrete proposals from the DFL and the German Football Association for more security in the stadiums at the summit. “We will discuss the issues there,” announced Watzke.
“We certainly see the political mandate to act,” said Axel Hellmann, spokesman for the board of Eintracht Frankfurt and member of the DFL executive committee, on the “Bild Sport” program on Welt-TV. “But you can’t hold everyone responsible for what a small group does.” In his opinion, “the pyrotechnics will not be completely removed from the stadiums.” Instead, the focus must be on ensuring that the games are conducted without violence.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240915-930-233135/1
This is a message directly from the dpa news channel.
