How fans forced German Football League to abandon billion euro deal

The German Football League (DFL) abandoned a billion-euro deal after widespread protests by Bundesliga fans, a turnaround that was hailed by supporters’ groups as a “success”.

“Given current developments, a successful continuation of the process no longer seems possible,” Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said in a statement on behalf of the DFL’s board.

The league looked to sell a slice of its broadcast and sponsorship revenue for 20 years in return for an upfront payment. Private equity investor CVC Capital Partners were the only remaining prospective buyer.

The 36 clubs from Germany’s top two divisions had voted by a two-thirds majority in favour of the plan to “secure long-term and sustainable success” of the league.

More from Football

PSG vs Tottenham Live Updates, UEFA Super Cup: PSG score two late goals to push the game to penalties PSG vs Tottenham: Date, time, and live streaming details of the Super Cup 2025

Under the deal, the DFL would have sacrificed up to eight percent of the Bundesliga’s future broadcast revenues in exchange for an immediate cash injection of some one billion euros to help promote German football internationally.

A similar proposal which sought to sell off a higher percentage of the TV revenue for a larger fee failed to get the necessary majority at a vote in May last year.

The DFL promised the new deal would include supporter-friendly protections against changes in kick-off times or moving competitive fixtures abroad.

Some clubs had also signalled their dissatisfaction with the deal, with Union Berlin last year saying the vote on the new deal came at the “wrong time”.

How did fans protest?

Fan groups, who wield significant influence in the German game, said the investor process lacked transparency and ignored supporters’ wishes.

Supporters’ group Unsere Kurve hailed a “major success for all active football fans”.

“Comprehensive, but very peaceful and very creative protests were ultimately the key to success,” the group’s spokesman Thomas Kessen told SID, AFP’s sports news subsidiary.

Fans in Germany’s first and second divisions littered football pitches with everything from tennis balls, chocolate coins to even a model airplane in opposition to the plan.

During Eintracht Frankfurt’s 3-3 draw with Freiburg, a remote-controlled model airplane was flown on to the field. Tennis balls interrupted Bayern Munich’s loss to Bochum.

After Jamal Musiala fired Bayern Munich ahead, Bochum fans threw tennis balls onto the field forcing an early halt to play. As soon as they were cleared, Bayern supporters flung more from their section, leading referee Daniel Schlager to tell both teams to return to the locker rooms. The fans also chanted against the DFL with an expletive. More tennis balls followed in the second half.

Meanwhile, Eintracht Frankfurt’s game had barely started against Freiburg when fans threw confetti on the field. There was another hold-up after the half-time break when at least two small airplanes were flown onto the field and more confetti was thrown from behind one of the goals.

“No to investors in the DFL!” read a huge banner behind the goal.

There were protests in the second division as well, with Nuremberg fans interrupting their team’s game against Kaiserslautern by entering the inner stadium area to show banners denouncing the proposed deal directly behind one of the goals.

Earlier this month, the second division match between Hertha Berlin and Hamburg was halted for 30 minutes as fans rained tennis balls and other objects down on the pitch.

Remote-controlled vehicles carrying smoke bombs were used to disrupt a game Saturday.

German football has a notable commitment to fan control and involvement via a “50+1” rule which restricts the degree of influence an external investor can have over a club.

The rule is incredibly popular among German fans, many of whom value it more than success on the field.

(with inputs from agencies)