There was a police operation because of a FIFA-critical poster in the Nations League game between Germany and Italy.
Around 15 people, shortly after the kick-off of the football classic in Mönchengladbach the banner with the inscription “15,000 dead for big scenes – FIFA and Co. without conscience!” had shown, are said to have hastily left the block and the stadium immediately afterwards. “There was a suspicion that the house rules had been violated“A spokesman for the Mönchengladbach police said to the German Press Agency.
Accordingly, after the protest against the controversial World Cup in Qatar at the end of the year, there was communication between the German Football Association (DFB) and the police. Police officers came across the group of people a little later and arrested them to record their personal details. “This was expressly not done for criminal prosecution. Displaying the poster is covered by freedom of expression“said the police spokesman. Rather, it was about”the protection of the rights of third parties” gone.
The DFB has now also provided an explanation for the police operation: After the banner was shown, a group of people moved very quickly out of the spectator area, but remained in the vicinity of the stadium, according to a statement on Wednesday (June 15, 2022): “Due to this atypical behavior and concerns about the safety of the event, the DFB informed the police.”
DFB: “No danger”
Later it turned out that “but no danger from the action” ran out of. “It is important to us to emphasize that freedom of expression is a valuable asset. Restricting this was and is not in the interest of the DFB“, it said from the association. That’s also why the DFB in the course of the DFB Cup final “Both registered DFB-critical and FIFA World Cup-critical banners approved”.
In addition, the DFB stated: “In particular, the question of hosting and awarding the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, the conditions for local workers, the restricted freedom of the press and freedom of expression and the situation for the LGBTIQ+ community requires a critical discourse“, the statement read: “German fan culture makes a significant contribution to this, which we expressly welcome.”
DFB waives legal action
However, after further consultation, the DFB decided not to take legal action. It is unclear whether the people entered the stadium illegally. The fact that they were picked up and arrested by the police caused a lot of criticism and incomprehension on social media.