Bayern, the banner against Minister Piantedosi: “Man of m…”

Solidarity with Eintracht Frankfurt fans. This explains the banner displayed yesterday by Bayern Munich supporters against the Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi. “No to bans on fans. Plantedosi man of m **** “. The Italian government had in fact denied Eintracht supporters the opportunity to participate in the away match in the Champions League on March 15 in Naples. This given the increasingly frequent episodes of violence (verbal and physical) by the ultras in Italy and because there had been contacts between Neapolitans and Germans during the first leg.

SERIOUS BACKGROUND

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Not only that: in 2018, on the occasion of the match between Lazio and Eintracht, the German ultras first created riots near the Olimpico stadium (more precisely on the Ponte della Musica), with attacks against the police, and then threw firecrackers and smoke bombs on the track athletics within the facility. After Lazio’s goal, some German ultras even tried to invade the field, but were stopped by the police. Last year, 35,000 Eintracht supporters turned up at the Camp Nou against Barcelona in the Europa League. The fans are very hot (often even violent), which is why we wanted to avoid dangers.

REACTION

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“Napoli’s ban on selling us tickets for our supporters is unprecedented in international football. It is a very sad day for this sport”, said Philipp Reschke, member of the board of directors of the German club, who then added that “the decision is not understandable and the conduct of the tournament is false”. The fact that Piantedosi’s decision is based on previous events is not considered sufficient in Germany, not only by Bayern fans: several newspapers have underlined that the Italian minister is from Naples. Maximilian Klöckner, of the Frankfurt city council, has asked for the exclusion of De Laurentiis’ club from the Champions League. In Germany, where the stadiums are always full, the ultras movement is becoming a significant problem: on February 26th there were injuries among the supporters of St. Pauli and Hansa Rostock (German second division) following the throwing of objects at inside the stadium and clashes outside. The conflict between the ultras and the police in Germany is also a highly topical issue. The difference, compared to Italy, is that in German stadiums whoever is found even just lighting a smoke bomb, pays fines (even hefty) out of his own pocket. In Italy, innocent clubs and fans are often punished, who cannot go to the stadium with the closure of the sectors or the ban on travel. Summary justice issue. Incomprehensible for the Bayern fans who displayed the banner against Piantedosi yesterday.