The DFB reports for the 2022/23 season: The number of violent incidents and abandoned games in amateur football remains at a high level.
DFB Vice President Ronny Zimmermann highlighted the violent death of a 15-year-old at an international youth tournament in Frankfurt at the end of May as particularly shocking.
“This must finally be a warning signal for everyone in football, regardless of what role you play in the sport – whether coach, supervisor, player, spectator or official,” said the 62-year-old on Monday at the presentation of the management report. Because of the incident it will “stay a bad year forever”.
961 game abandonments
Overall, the number of incidents of violence and discrimination in the 2022/23 season rose from 5,847 to 6,224 compared to the previous season, and the number of abandoned games from 945 to 961. In addition, significantly more games were abandoned in the men’s division (537) than in the women’s division (5th ). In the age groups from D to F youth alone, there were 126 game abandonments.
Since 2014, the DFB has had a situational picture of the divisions below the 3rd division drawn up based on the referees’ online match reports. A total of 1,234,154 games (1,179,210 in the 21/22 season) were recorded. Physical attacks, but also threats, are considered acts of violence. According to the DFB, the referees are “particularly often” among those affected.
DFB Vice President Ronny Zimmermann is not satisfied with the development in amateur football.
“Not a good development”
Basically, the development is “not a good one,” said criminologist Thaya Vester from the University of Tübingen. The number of incidents of violence and cancellations from the previous season was “not a one-time outlier” compared to the pre-Corona years. In addition, there could be an unreported number of unreported cases.
The situation picture has changed “developed into an important indicator of the mood in the squares”, said Zimmermann, who called for the numbers to be lowered “over the near future.”