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A fan crisis awaits Bundesliga leaders once full-capacity crowds are allowed back into stadiums

ultras

PA Images | VfB Stuttgart Ultras in the Cannstatter Kurve of the Mercedes Benz Arena with a banner protesting against club owner Dietmar Hopp from Hoffenheim. There were protests like this in stadia all over Germany back in March - but still there is no settlement between fans and authorities.

Bundesliga organisers are locked in a heavy dispute with hardcore German supporters over radical protests against Hoffenheim's ex-president, Dietmar Hopp.

The so-called "50+1" rule, which puts fans in control of clubs and resists foreign investor takeovers, is at the heart of the dispute.

For a long time, and in accordance with the 50+1 rule, the DFL and DFB gave German Ultras carte blanche to stage their radical protests inside stadiums - instead of banning them.

Bundesliga organisers met with fan representatives before the coronavirus crisis but failed to reach a solution.

28 June 2020 - 7:32 PM

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