Bundesliga team defends itself: Cologne must pay a record fine due to fan pyros

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Bundesliga football team 1. FC Cologne must pay a record fine of 595,000 euros due to the large-scale burning of fireworks by its fans during the derby against Borussia Mönchengladbach (3-1). The FC has received a corresponding criminal complaint from the control committee of the German Football Association (DFB), as the 16th in the table. announced on Wednesday. However, the first Bundesliga champion wants to “apply to the DFB control committee to significantly reduce the penalty”.

The club considers “the DFB’s approach of assessing the events without reflection and partially applying a standardized sentencing guideline as wrong,” the Cologne team explained.

“In our opinion, this approach absolutely misses the point,” FC director Christian Keller said in a club statement: “Awarding federal penalties in this form is far removed from the reality of German football and fan culture. We will therefore continue to actively and vigorously advocate for a sensible adjustment of the sentencing guidelines and for an appropriate way to deal with this culture.”

Smoke development delayed the kick-off

On October 22, Cologne fans lit numerous pyrotechnic objects in the south stand before and during the derby against arch-rivals from Mönchengladbach. Due to the enormous smoke development, the kick-off was postponed by more than six minutes.

“The derby was intensively prepared by our safety and fan representatives and by the safety authorities,” Keller explains. “In principle, this case shows once again that a general ban on pyrotechnics in football does not have sufficient effect. For the active fan scene, the use of fireworks is part of football and fan culture.”

According to Keller, “no red lines should be crossed.” In concrete terms, the safety of spectators must always be guaranteed and there must be no impact on sporting events. “These limits were clearly exceeded against Gladbach. This also leads to enormous financial damage. The high fine hits the FC very hard on the road to economic recovery as quickly as possible,” said the FC director. (AFP)

Source : Blick