Representatives from all the major consolidated German ultra groups have also declared the matter to be closed. The match disruptions will now cease along with the DFL’s negotiations with any potential investor for the time being. Two top-tier German sides have revealed what they shall do with all the tennis balls collected during the ongoing protests over the past three weeks.
Despite widespread interruptions over the past few weeks, no matches in either of Germany’s top two footballing flight were abandoned due to the scenes.
VfL Bochum also confirmed that they planned to donate the balls to local schools and the club’s very own “Blau-Weißer Bewegungsraum” project; an initiative that helps promote sport amongst the local youth. VfL Bochum wingback Maximilian Wittek – obviously in a fabulous mood after his side upset German giants FC Bayern München on Sunday – joked that he had uses for the balls in his post-match interview.
“I love playing paddle tennis,” Wittek told German broadcaster DAZN, “So I could definitely use a ball or two.”
“From the point of view of active football fans and all members of the clubs in Germany, this is of course a great success,” Thomas Kessen – President of Germany’s largest consolidated ultra group, “Unsere Kurve”, told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur yesterday “Today is a good day for Germany’s football fans.”
Heads of tow of the other largest fan societies in the Bundesrepublik – Faszination Fankurve and Finanzwende – also lauded the fan protest movement, calling it a “huge victory for civil society over big money”. BVB boss Hans-Joachim Watzke – from the very beginning the deal’s biggest proponent – reiterated, admitted that the fans forced the DFL to “shelve” the process.
Though Watzke still spoke of the need to raise additional capital in order to “ensure an affordable stadium” experience, the veteran German football administrator issued a statement conceding that the interruptions rendered “continuation of the process unsustainable”.
