Security summit brings minor “progress” – fans criticize

“Attending a football game is safe. But if we can make it even safer, that’s very good. “We are only at the beginning,” said DFL supervisory board chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke for the football site afterwards. The three-hour discussions at the headquarters of Flughafen München GmbH were “entirely constructive, but also confrontational at times.” It was “important that this meeting took place,” said Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann. “We have made progress on some points, but there is still work to be done.”

Politicians had massively increased the pressure on football in the run-up to the “security conference”, but there was hardly any sign of the sharp rhetoric beforehand. Herrmann had threatened severe consequences, including game cancellations, if the associations and clubs did not get their violence problem under control. The football bosses had pushed for the debate to be sharpened with the help of the recommendations of their stadium security group.

Only a few concrete measures were introduced at the almost 45-minute press conference. It was decided to push ahead with the introduction of a “central stadium ban commission with uniform criteria,” emphasized Herrmann. Hamburg’s Interior and Sports Senator Andy Grote added that in the future more “will be able to get on the feet of the decisive perpetrators”. The topic of collective punishment was “discussed, but not discussed further.” “We are expressly putting that on hold,” explained Herrmann.

When it comes to data exchange, politics and football have come a step closer, and the DFB will also intensify the topic of steward training. Furthermore, a permanent joint commission is to be formed with representatives from football and politics. DFB President Bernd Neuendorf announced that they would include “a fan representative”: “We have to involve those affected.” He welcomed this “announcement of involvement,” said Peter Jost as first chairman of the Unser Kurve fan alliance.

However, when it comes to pyrotechnics, fans should not expect any concessions. “Pyrotechnics have no place in our stadiums.” “There is no reason for changes,” said Herrmann. There was “no disagreement” in this regard at the security summit, Watzke added. This is not about an impending “huge catastrophe”. Nevertheless, it is dangerous. We are the organizers and therefore cannot allow this.”

In general, it is “about a small group of people who are causing unrest in and around the stadiums,” said Neuendorf: “The meltdown has not occurred and will not occur.” However, Herrmann put the number of injuries in perspective around football games into perspective is higher than it was before the corona crisis. “I don’t want to dramatize it unnecessarily, but it’s not nice,” said Bavaria’s Interior Minister.

The number of incidents is too high for the problem to be “negated”. The aim is to counteract such “undesirable developments as quickly as possible”. This is also entirely in the interest of those responsible for football. “Every case,” says Neuendorf, “is one too many, and we want to address that.”

Friday’s meeting could “become a real breakthrough,” emphasized Saxony’s Interior Minister Armin Schuster. To do this, you now have to “get into a flow of long-term collaboration”. This is the only way to achieve results from lip service.

The fan organization “Our Curve”, on the other hand, does not consider the planned introduction of a central commission for stadium bans to be expedient. “Local stadium ban commissions have proven themselves for more than ten years,” says the fans’ association.

“Our Curve” also criticized the fact that politicians and professional football are sticking to a ban on pyrotechnics. This was said to be ineffective.

“Exactly what was predicted by the fans has now happened – populist demands are trumpeted, but expertise is nowhere to be seen.” “That’s what happens when you don’t talk to each other, but only about each other,” said the spokesman for “Our Curve.” , Thomas Kessen, on the results of the security summit.