No matter how much you hate the person, you simply can’t put that hate in football.
Bayern Munich was 6-0 up in away game against Hoffenheim, but all of a sudden Bayern fans unfurled an offensive banner toward Hoffenheim president Dietmar Hopp.
The act caused many of Bayern officials to react as Bayern coach Hansi Flick and most of the players asked the fans to put the banner away.
Sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic and board member Oliver Kahn also attempted to talk to the ultras.
Referee Christian Dingert took the players down the tunnel and the game was suspended for about 20 minutes.
When the match restarted from 77 minutes, fans were told that the match would be abandoned if the banner appeared again.
Then this happens. Bayern’s and Hoffenheim’s players just kicked the ball between themselves, with goalkeepers not even in their goals until the final whistle.
Lo nunca visto: Hoffenheim y Bayern deciden jugar los 15 minutos que faltan… pero pasándose el balón entre ellos a modo de denuncia por lo sucedido. #LaCasaDelFútbol https://t.co/9guzORu3EP pic.twitter.com/8bLXZ5GhOG
— Fútbol en Movistar Plus+ (@MovistarFutbol) February 29, 2020
At the end, Bayern chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and the players alongside Hopp stood on the pitch and applauded Hoffenheim fans as a solidarity.
Why would Bayern fans do such a thing to Dietmar Hopp?
Hopp is a billionaire software entrepreneur.
He was a youth player for Hoffenheim and decided to support the team financially in 2000, from the fifth division to Bundesliga.
However in 2015, Hopp was allowed to take a majority voting share, one of three exceptions to the 50+1 rule which means members must own more than half the shares in their club.
Only the other two Bundesliga teams are not be owned by fans which are Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg.
The problem is when a club is not owned by fans or traditionally owned by people of football, fans would accused it of being unfair, or a simple term would be “They won because of money.”
Journalist Archie Rhind-Tutt, who was at the game gives a perfect summary to the situation.
“There is a lot of opposition by fans of traditional clubs. Last week I saw Borussia Monchengladbach fans unveil a banner with his face in the crosshair. Dortmund fans did that too.
“That’s why Bayern ultras acted in solidarity with those two fans and held up the banner. Dortmund fans were chanting today in their game against Freiburg and it was briefly stopped.
“Flick was furious. He ran to the away end twice and told them to stop it. You wonder in the context of what is happening in society is this where they draw the line?
“This is a microcosm of the debate which has been brewing and bubbling away in German football for ages – tradition being rolled over by the new wave of money.
“This feels like a watershed moment for German football in the way this whole debate will kick off. It shows the disparity – you have groups of fans like ultras who stand for a fan ownership model and a large majority just want to watch the game.
“The feeling on the ground here is the right thing was done. I’m not sure that will be reflected across Germany. The debate will go on and on.”