Bayern Munich clash with fans over protest against Hoffenheim
Bayern Munich CEO Karl Heinz-Rummenigge condemned the actions of away fans against Hoffenheim.
It was a strange week for Bayern Munich. The defending league champions had a top week in terms of getting results on the pitch. They came back home with a solid 3-0 win in the Champions League against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. It makes them favourites to qualify for the quarterfinals of the European competition.
In the Bundesliga, Rekordmeister continued their resurgence with a magnificent 6-0 victory against Hoffenheim. This victory and RB Leipzig’s result against Bayer Leverkusen helped Die Roten to open up a three-point lead at the top of the table.
The win against Hoffenheim turned sour when away fans of Bayern fans held banners insulting the owner of Hoffenheim. Initially, the game was paused for a couple of minutes, but the persistence of the fans to keep the banner forced the referee to suspend the game.
After 15 or so minutes, both teams returned to the pitch. Players decided to see out the last 15 minutes of the game by not competing against each other, passing around the ball to each other. Speaking to Sky Sports, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge urged DFB to take strict action against hooligans.
"“As a representative of FC Bayern, I feel deeply ashamed of these hooligans.”“I can only say one thing – today the moment has come for the entire Bundesliga, DFB and DFL to take joint action against these hooligans."
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Rummenigge’s comments and players’ reluctance to play on the pitch didn’t go down with players. The Sudkurve ultra (via Felix Tamsut of DW Sports)of Bayern released a statement condemning the action taken by the club against Hoffenheim.
The ultras believe that the banner was not at all offensive, and it is a normal practice done by fans of various other German clubs in the Bundesliga. They also insisted that if banners are given so much attention, and games are suspended due to it, then there will be very few league games that will be competed throughout the 90 minutes.
It remains to be seen whether Rekordmeister will get some sort of punishment from DFB for the actions that took place in the Bundesliga. A point deduction in the league will jolt Die Roten’s aspirations of defending their domestic title. Moreover, it will be a very harsh punishment for players as they have been playing well in the past few weeks.
Next. Four takeaways as Bayern Munich demolish Hoffenheim. dark
In my opinion, fans are expected to hold banners, but some sort of regulation on the type of banners may help in avoiding such situations. They have the right to protest against owners, but a much better and more civil way will help in not affecting the football on the pitch.