A Party in Leverkusen, Protests Elsewhere
By: Anthony Tazbaz
Image Credit: 3DVISU
What a weekend in Leverkusen! While Real Madrid were busy routing Girona FC 4-0 to take a five-point lead in the La Liga table, Bayer Leverkusen crushed Bayern Munich 3-0 on Saturday, courtesy of goals scored by Croatian international Josip Stanišić, Alex Grimaldo and Jeremie Frimpong on the last play of the match.
Carnival Time!
Just as Carnival — a major cultural celebration in Germany — hits its peak, the city of Leverkusen can celebrate the fact that they remained undefeated against Bayern Munich this season (they drew 2-2 at the Allianz Arena earlier in the season). Moreover, this is not your average five-point lead; Bayern Munich were completely dominated in the 3-0 Leverkusen win and a Bundesliga title for Leverkusen would signal the end of Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga supremacy, whereby the Bavarian club won 11 consecutive titles.
Saturday’s win extends Leverkusen’s unbeaten streak this season to 31 matches, which leaves the German outfit as the only club in Europe’s major professional leagues that remain undefeated in all competitions. In Europa League, Leverkusen won all six of their group matches and gained automatic qualification to the Round of 16, which means that they will not play on Thursday, February 15.
As well, Leverkusen won their semifinal match last week against VfB Stuttgart by a 3-2 score . Many believe that the winner of that match will likely win the title; Mönchengladbach is the other club remaining in the competition and will face Saarbrücken in their postponed quarterfinal match — due to heavy rainfall — on March 12. The two other semifinalists are 2. Bundesliga clubs Fortuna Düsseldorf and FC Kaiserslautern.
Should they hold onto their Bundesliga lead, live up to expectations in the final-four of the Pokal and continue their dominance in Europa League, we may just see a new treble winner and a second in as many years.
Unrest Across Germany
Although many supporters across Germany, no matter the club, would be happy to see Bayer Leverkusen overthrow Bayern’s reign and win their first ever Bundesliga title, this past weekend showcased anything but happy supporters. On Friday February 9, a match between Borussia Dortmund and SC Freiburg, Dortmund/home supporters threw tennis balls and golden-covered chocolate coins during the first half and at the 60th minute, causing delays of up to 10 minutes. Dortmund supporters also displayed a banner saying "No to investors in the DFL (German Football League)."
On the same day, in 2. Bundesliga action, Hamburger SV supporters tied bicycles to the goal posts and relished their moments to throw objects onto the field. Supporters from the opposing team, Hannover 96, hung a banner in German stating “No to investors in the DfL” and brandished a poster of club President, Martin Kind, in crosshairs.
Union Berlin supporters joined in on the nationwide action and replicate the actions committed by Dortmund supporters. The match between Borussia Mönchengladbach and Werder Bremen also comprised fake coins being thrown onto the pitch, which resulted in a five-minute delay to kickoff. Leverkusen supporters also contributed to the nationwide protests as they threw objects onto the field, despite being in attendance of what is considered to have been the match of the season in Germany.
Despite varying forms of protesting, supporters from all 36 Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga clubs — 18 clubs per division — agreed to remain silent for the first 12 minutes of the match. The 12 minutes of silence symbolizes German culture, in which the supporters are considered the ‘12th man’ on the pitch (football squads consist of 11 players on the pitch).
However, protests have sporadically occurred since mid-December following reports of foreign investment from private equity firms in Germany’s top two divisions. On December 15, in Paderborn, travelling supporters of 2. Bundesliga club Hansa Rostock threw pyrotechnics onto the field, injuring eight stewards and 12 police officers. According to Paderborn, there was an estimated damage of €100,000 ($ US 109,085).
Why The Protests?
The protests began following an agreement between the German Football Association (DfB) and private equity investors looking to obtain a stake in the German leagues’ marketing revenues.
Remember Hannover President Martin Kind? Well, Hannover supporters felt betrayed after finding out that their own club’s president voted in favour of a proposal to secure a private equity investment in exchange for a considerable share of TV rights over the next 20 years.
The vote was deemed successful following a second round of ballots, whereby 24 out of the 36 clubs — amounting exactly to the two-third majority requirement to win a vote — voted in favour of the investment. With the vote passing, DFL co-CEOs Steffen Merkel and Marc Lenz will enter negotiations with prospective private equity firms. The front-runners include American firms Blackstone, KKR, Thoma Bravo, Carlyle Group and Swedish firm EQT Partners. Between 2018 and 2023, these firms raised the following amounts (in USD):
🇺🇸 Blackstone: $125.6 billion
🇺🇸 KKR: $103.7 billion
🇸🇪 EQT Partners: $101.7 billion
🇺🇸 Thoma Bravo: $74.1 billion
🇺🇸 Carlyle Group: $69.7 billion
A provisional deal could resemble an approximate $1 billion investment in digitalization and global marketing that could expand the Bundesliga’s audience, fanbase and revenues. To this end, the successful investing partner could acquire an 8% stake in TV rights revenues for 20 years.
Against this backdrop, Union Berlin President Dirk Zingler echoed Bundesliga supporters’ qualms that such a large foreign investment could undermine Germany’s successful formula — most clubs being owned by its members (i.e., the supporters), also known as the 50+1 rule — which is instrumental in upholding their prestigious football culture. Zingler mentioned that this may be a futile attempt to compete financially with wealthy club owners in other leagues but could produce significant ramifications to German clubs and alienate their fanbases — in essence, a gentrification across German football.
A History of Protesting
It is no secret that Bundesliga supporters are outspoken and notorious for staging protests, particularly in their stadiums. Upon returning to the stadiums following a series of pandemic-induced lockdowns, supporters from many clubs held various forms of protests. While FSV Mainz supporters protested against anti-Semitism, those from Stuttgart threw shade at Hoffenheim investor Dietmar Hopp for his involvement in pharmaceutical company CureVac to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. The latter made a reference to the 50+1 rule, which suggests that Hopp is an elitist who should not have the right to such a large chunk of a club’s ownership.
During Bundesliga matches in 2018, supporters across Germany held protests opposing Monday night football matches. A large contingent of supporters issued a statement calling for Monday night matches to be scrapped permanently. The statement read: “Our message to club representatives and the DFL is clear: No more Monday games!" They also chanted the frequently used slogan, albeit worded slightly differently: “a football for fans and not for financial gain," which is applicable under many circumstances of supporter uproar.
Ultimately, these series of protests were a massive success, with the Bundesliga announcing that Monday league matches would be scrapped as of the 2021-2022 season.
It is clear that Bundesliga supporters are counting on a similar success. However, in football, it is difficult to succeed in a cause that opposes investment and large sums of money.
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below! Are these Bundesliga protests warranted, or will this investment be ultimately beneficial to the league, the clubs and the supporters?
