A deal prevents the worst

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Saturday evening at the Brügglifeld stadium, shortly after 8 p.m.: A horde of angry Aarau fans stormed towards the players’ entrance behind the main stand. A glass door breaks, but they can’t go on because a grille blocks the entrance. If some hooded figures try at other entrances, they won’t get any further there either: everything is tight!

Inside, players of Aarauer and opponent Stade Lausanne-Ouchy, their relatives, referees, officials, VIP guests and FCA employees experience anxious minutes. Will you get out of here safely?

Less than an hour earlier, FC Aarau lost the home game against the inhabitants of Vaud with 2:3. The home side leads 2-1 into stoppage time, before two goals conceded in the dying minutes put an end to the last hope of promotion. And lead to the disgrace of Aarau. Even before the final whistle, some hardcore fans want to get on the field, after the match they succeed. An expensive LED billboard breaks – and therefore much more, materially, emotionally and in terms of image.

The situation was extremely difficult

The FCA team and coach Boris Smiljanic face the furious peloton, on the grass field there is scuffle, shoving and vicious abuse between the sides. When the players move into the dressing room and the place is vacated again, the predicament seems to be resolved. think!

Shortly afterwards, the so-called fans appear behind the stands. After realizing they can’t get in, they demand the players’ shirts. The ultimate form of humiliation. The message of the action: your players are not worth the jersey, we fans are! Seen in this way, the intensity of the escalation that evening in Aarau is surprising: FCA has disappointed this season sportingly, instead of heading for promotion, it is floating in midfield. But the club from Brügglifeld is far from the danger of relegation and other signs of decline.

Point: At the time of escalation, it’s important to get out of the case fairly safely. FCA president Philipp Bonorand discusses the situation with his chief of security. Handing out the jerseys is not an option, the players firmly reject it. But simply doing nothing is also not possible: the fans seem ready for further acts of violence, the safety of the players and other people in the stadium is at risk and the situation is extremely precarious in these minutes.

This is where Bonorand’s past as a fan comes into play: in his youth, the businessman followed the competitions around the bend and was one of the founders of the fan club “Affenkasten Tequila Front”.

Bonorand brings the leader of the “Aarau scene” (nickname of the FCA hardcore fans) to his office, and together they make a deal: the leader is allowed to address the team in the locker room on behalf of the “Aarau scene”, but the fans then leave the stadium. It gets loud and emotional in the dressing room, and players also express their lack of understanding for the fans’ behaviour. Bonorand speaks of a “fair and civil exchange based on the circumstances”.

Does FC Aarau have a fan problem?

The fan group departs shortly before 9 p.m. Then the players leave the Brügglifeld, fall into the arms of their relatives and acquaintances who wait longingly outside. A courier brings pizza for the Stade Lausanne-Ouchy players, who board the bus with the box under their arm and begin the journey home.

The day after, President Philipp Bonorand meets head of sports Sandro Burki to discuss the situation. The incidents are deep in the bones of those responsible. Does FC Aarau have a fan problem? After all, it is not the first incident this season: after the 6-1 defeat in Wil in mid-November, the FCA fans blocked the team bus and only let it go when the chairman and a few leading players reported.

Philipp Bonorand says: “We have a problem in Aarau because people, and I’m not just talking about hardcore fans, can no longer classify the situation. Yes, the season is disappointing, promotion probably won’t happen anymore: But it’s football, a game. It shows time and time again how unpredictable this sport can be. I don’t want to know what would happen here if we were about to go down. The management team and all employees do a lot every day to keep FC Aarau running We took over the club three years ago during a pandemic and after a rebuild last year we missed promotion by just a goal This season is not going as planned That’s the sport Unfortunately this understanding around FC Aarau has been lost. ”

Bonorand strongly condemns the damage to property and threats of violence by the fans. “Every day people die in the war in Ukraine – and here a game leads to such border crossings, they just don’t go together. Match visitors in the VIP room, players and referees must be afraid whether they can leave the stadium healthy, I have no knowledge of that.”

Is Bonorand even thinking about resigning? “A few things have happened in the last few weeks – and now this. I know what we’re doing internally and how much effort everyone here is putting in. And then all of a sudden I have to decide what to do to ensure the health of the people in the stadium. I like FC Aarau, but of course I have these thoughts.”

It is still unclear whether FC Aarau will report the material damage. What is clear is that the price for the 2:3 defeat against Stade Lausanne-Ouchy is immense. In all perspectives.

Source : Blick