As on Saturday evening in Berlin, the games in Hanover and Elversberg also had to be temporarily interrupted due to fan protests. Referee Deniz Aytekin took it with humor.
One day after the farce in the top game between Hertha BSC and Hamburger SV, the game between Hannover 96 and Hansa Rostock had to be interrupted on Sunday afternoon. The reason for this was again fan protests against the planned investor entry into the DFL. 96ers supporters threw tennis balls onto the field eight times starting in the 14th minute of the game – the game was interrupted for eight minutes.
Every time the stewards cleared the penalty area and play resumed briefly, the next wave followed. In the 25th minute, referee Alexander Sather sent both teams off the field. Hanover’s goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler had previously tried in vain to calm his own fans.
The protests were accompanied by insults from 96 fans against the majority shareholder Martin Kind. The managing director of the outsourced professional football division is a supporter of investor entry. The leadership of the parent club Hannover 96 eV is strictly against it. Halftime only started 66 minutes after the game kicked off
Lemons in Elversberg
The parallel game between SV Elversberg and 1. FC Kaiserslautern was not spared from protests. The FCK fans started throwing lemons onto the pitch in the 31st minute. There was also a banner reading “DFL investors are making us mad!” was to be seen. Referee Deniz Aytekin apparently took the action with humor and fortified himself with lemon juice during the clean-up work. Five minutes later the game resumed.
In the past few weeks, fans in all Bundesliga stadiums have repeatedly caused disruptions by throwing chocolate coins, bouncy balls and tennis balls. The supporters are protesting against commercialization and the DFL’s recent plans to work with an investor.