Kick-off in both halves of the Bundesliga match between Eintracht Frankfurt and RasenBallsport Leipzig was delayed on Monday night as supporters protested against the introduction of Monday night football in Germany’s top flight.
The game was initially delayed by around ten minutes when Frankfurt ultras left the north-west terrace behind the goal and began to surround to the pitch holding banners reading: “The streets take back the game – Eintracht fans say NO to Mondays!”
The second half was then delayed for a similar amount of time when fans threw thousands of tennis balls onto the pitch and draped the goalposts in toilet paper.
During both stages of the protest, which took place calmly, peacefully and without the need for police intervention, banners were displayed around the stadium carrying messages expressing supporters’ opposition to Monday night football, while fans aimed chants of “football mafia!” at the German Football Association.
Throughout the game, in which Frankfurt came from behind to win 2-1 and go third in the Bundesliga, the home supporters refused to support their own team as part of the protest, instead whistling incessantly whenever RB Leipzig were in possession.
Monday night football
This season, the German Football League has scheduled five Bundesliga fixtures on Monday nights, ostensibly to give Germany’s Europa League participants an extra day’s rest. Indeed, RB Leipzig travelled to Frankfurt on the back of a 3-1 win away at Napoli the previous Thursday.
But supporters’ groups across Germany see the addition of an extra televised game as an attempt to squeeze more revenue from TV rights - yet another step in the perceived over-commercialisation of the sport.
"This is about more than just goals and points," read a statement from Nordwestkurve Frankfurt, an umbrella organisation including several supporters’ clubs as well as the hardcore ultras. "This is about the question: how much are we as football fans prepared to put up with?"
The DFL have been quick to point out that media revenue from the five Monday night games represents less than 1% of the Bundesliga’s current 1.36 billion euro TV deal, and that midweek football is nothing new. Indeed, 37% of Bundesliga fixtures in the 1991-92 season took place between Monday and Friday, compared to only 17% this season.
‘Marketing is their highest priority’
Nevertheless, in a season which has already seen significant protests against video assistant referees (VAR), ticket prices, restrictions on flags and other fan equipment and the addition of a Chinese U20 Olympic XI to one regional league, match-going supporters see Monday night football as the latest assault on their fan culture.
"Clearly, the league and the clubs are prepared to sacrifice our interests for the smallest of financial gains," continued the Frankfurt statement. "As long as they have a few more euros in their pockets, they couldn't care less how many days’ holiday we need to take to attend an away game. Marketing is their highest priority."
Ironically, the visitors to Frankfurt’s 51,500-capacity Waldstadion for the Bundesliga’s first Monday night game were RB Leipzig – the franchise club created by Austrian energy drink giant Red Bull in 2009 and considered by many German fans to represent the embodiment of over-commercialised football.
RB Leipzig’s own fans announced their own half-hearted boycott of the fixture, a protest which was met with scorn by most other fan groups who believe the team shouldn’t even be allowed to exist.
Next up: Borussia Dortmund
The anti-Monday protests are set to continue next Monday when Borussia Dortmund are scheduled to face Augsburg at the Westfalenstadion. Dortmund supporters’ groups in the “Südtribüne Alliance,” including the three hardcore ultra groups, have called for an outright boycott of the fixture.
Over 315 fan clubs have announced their intention to join the boycott, which could result in swathes of empty seats inside the stadium and gaps on the famous Yellow Wall.
The away end will also be deserted after Augsburg’s organised support announced their refusal to make the 600-kilometer journey from Bavaria on a Monday night.
The third game to be scheduled on a Monday night is Werder Bremen vs. Cologne on March 12th. Neither team is in the Europa League and neither set of fans has yet announced any action.
The remaining two Monday games are due to be announced at the end of the February.
