Adrian Maleika died in Hamburg in 1982 because he was a supporter of the “wrong” club. 40 years later, fan researcher Jonas Gabler says: “Violence continues to play a major role.” Serious riots in football are currently increasing again. Is the brutality escalating?
Adrian Maleika was 16 years old when, hit by a cobblestone and violent kicks, he fell into a coma and never woke up. It was derby time in the Volkspark – and the young Werder fan wanted to be part of the cup cracker. Today, four decades after the previously unthinkable event in the Volkspark, only a few know whether Hamburger SV or the unloved guests from Bremen won. The name Adrian Maleika, however, who died on October 17, 1982, has been both a reminder and a warning ever since. He stands for the consequences of rampant violence – not only, but also in football.
Maleika’s death as a deterrent – is that still effective?
“The death of Adrian Maleika reminded people that something like this can happen when violence escalates,” says Berlin political scientist and fan researcher Jonas Gabler in an interview with NDR. “Everyone was forced to deal with it and ask themselves: do we want this?” At that time the answer was “no”. But is that still the case today? Or has what happened to Adrian Maleika lost its potency after all these years?
Fan researcher Gabler: Everyone wants to go home alive
“The vast majority of fans – including those who take part in violence – have the goal that in the end everyone goes home alive,” said Gabler, who published the book “The Ultras: Soccer Fans and Soccer Cultures in Germany” in 2010. “There is no desire to destroy the opponent.” The brutal pictures of the riots with serious injuries recently at the Conference League game of 1. FC Köln in Nice, in the Champions League of Eintracht Frankfurt in Marseille or the blind destruction of Dresden chaos on the way back from Bayreuth meanwhile convey a worrying picture.
Splinter groups are drifting away
Some may see this as an indication of a general increase in violence in football. “In the last ten years you can see that some fans are more interested in violence again,” Gabler said. “New hooligan groups have formed, but there are also some splinter groups in the scene that have drifted in a more violent direction.”
The scientist has a certain access to the scene, as it is said, since he started working in the competence group for fan culture and sports-related social work (KoFaS) at the University of Hanover in 2012. He is now their managing director.
Police union fears dead again
The deputy federal chairman of the police union, Michael Mertens, warns of the dramatic consequences of the latest development. “If something doesn’t change soon, there could be deaths,” he told the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger”. However, Gabler does not expect such an escalation: “One should use the means available to identify perpetrators, punish them if they are accused of something, but at the same time refrain from blanket condemnations of entire groups.”
In this context, it should not be concealed that police officers can also overreact, as may have happened before the Hamburg second division derby between St. Pauli and HSV.
Gabler: “No club covers criminals”
The clubs are responsible, on the one hand, for sanctioning where perpetrators can be arrested, but on the other hand for remaining in dialogue with the fan groups. “They have to master the balancing act,” demands Gabler. What Mertens doesn’t seem to believe the club officials are capable of, given the increasing number of border crossings: “The clubs are withdrawing and hardly doing anything against violent fans.”
You can’t say that in such a general way, Gabler contradicts. “There are certainly clubs that have a hard time with sanctions, but I’m sure that no club covers offenders. They can’t have any interest in it.”
HSV unveils commemorative plaque – reminder for the future
Adrian Maleika died one day after the 2:3 defeat and the cup out of his green and white as a result of a fractured skull and cerebral hemorrhage – without having regained consciousness. The perpetrator or perpetrators were never caught.
“His name is definitely still a household name in Hamburg and Bremen,” says Gabler. “I don’t know how present the drama is elsewhere in people’s heads.” On the 40th anniversary this Monday, Hamburger SV is inaugurating a commemorative plaque which – according to the club on its website – “should also be understood as a reminder for the future”. So that the death of a 16-year-old football fan might not have been completely pointless.
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sports club | 10/17/2022 | 12:00 a.m
