German Fans Help Their Club To Receive A One Year Ban

Second division German side Dynamo Dresden happens to be a club with a lot of passionate supporters. Unfortunately when passion becomes violence it leads to trouble for the fans as well as the club. Following their heroics at Borussia Dormund’s ground last year, Dynamo’s fans started the riot this year at the match with Hannover in October.

On October 31st, in the second round of the DFB Pokal cup (German Cup) Hannover hosted Dynamo which the hosts won 4-3 on penalties. Following the match around 300 Dynamo fans broke into Hannover’s AWD Arena and clashed with police, which held the match up for 15 minutes. And after various investigations by the German football fedaration’s (DFB) banned Dynamo Dresden from the 2013-2014 DFB Pokal and handed a €70,000 to Hannover 96 due to actions by their supporters.

“The weight of the punishment is explained by the numerous precedents and the seriousness of the incidents at the Cup game in Hannover,” explained Hans Lorenz, president of the German Football Federation’s (DFB) disciplinary panel after a seven-hour hearing.

Christian Müller, the club’s managing director, has criticized the behavior of the “minority” of estimated 300 Dresden supporters that misbehaved at the AWD Arena but disagrees with the punishment issued by the DFB.

“The sports court has certified that Dynamo Dresden has done nothing wrong. We are punished anyway and harder than last time. This is a vicious circle that threatens the existence of our organization.”

What’s more interesting from the announcement of the ban is the fact that it comes just before two days before a huge vote in German football where the clubs and various authorities will vote on extremely stringent rules being put in place that will drastically affect the match-day experience at Bundesliga matches.