#Fanatical football game fans how to
People didn't seem to know how to create an atmosphere." "People are used to the ultras setting the tone on the terraces, but that was gone. "It's been horrifyingly quiet," says Johannes Bagus, a social worker at the Fan-Projekt Dortmund, a pedagogical organization that works closely with young football fans and ultras.
Without them, German football just hasn't been the same.
"It's been one big patchwork, and that's how the return of the ultras has been, too." 'Horrifyingly quiet' "There were different rules from state to state and from league to league, and the groups all had slightly different demands," explains Johannes Mäling, the editor-in-chief of Faszination Fankurve, the preeminent German news portal covering the country's football fan culture. Borussia Mönchengladbach ultras briefly returned in September 2021 after local regulations were relaxed, but others stuck strictly to the "everyone or no one" premise. The biggest issue remained Germany's strict event admittance criteria, whereby entry to football stadia was categorized as "3G" ("geimpft, genesen, getestet" - vaccinated, recovered or tested) or "2G" (only vaccinated or recovered fans), all enforced by personalized tickets checked against COVID-19 vaccination certificates.įor the ultras, suspicious of the authorities and protective of their personal data even in non-pandemic times, it was a red line they wouldn't cross. So, they stayed away, sticking to the mantra: "Alle oder keiner" ("everyone or no one"). Most ultras accepted the measures as necessary in the context of containing the pandemic but felt it was impossible for them to live out their fan culture under such conditions: freely, independently, actively and vibrantly. Ultras stayed away from Bundesliga stadiums during the pandemic, even when society was opening up again Image: Thomas Banneyer/dpa/picture alliance
When supporters were allowed to return in limited numbers throughout 2021, unreserved standing terraces were replaced by seats, face masks were often mandatory, and tickets were individually personalized and linked to identity cards to enable contact tracing. In May 2020, after a coronavirus-enforced hiatus, the Bundesliga became the first major European league to return, albeit with "Geisterspiele," "ghost games" played behind closed doors. The players notice it, and it can help get a few more percentage points out of their performance." 'We have to stand shoulder to shoulder' "Football only works when there is a symbiosis between the team on the pitch and fans in the stands. "In Germany, our active fan scenes, our standing terraces and our socially inclusive ticketing are all elements which help create a close relationship with the fans," Werder Bremen chief executive Klaus Filbry told DW after the return of the ultras at his own club in recent weeks.
#Fanatical football game fans full
From Berlin to Bielefeld, Kaiserslautern to Karlsruhe, football stadiums across Germany were full of the sounds and sights of the country's fan culture. Flags waved back and forth, and yellow confetti and streamers filled the air, soon mingling with the smoke from assorted pyrotechnics.įor the first time since February 2020, the ultras were back inside Germany's largest football ground for a Bundesliga game, and they weren't alone. "Willkommen zurück im Westfalenstadion!" ("Welcome back to the Westfalenstadion") read a huge banner. After 763 days as a mournful grey block, Borussia Dortmund's "Südtribüne," the towering South Stand, was once again a Yellow Wall on Sunday, packed with 24,451 standing fans.
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