Uli Hoeneß: “Football also possible without ultras” – sport

In the debate about having a say in fans of German football, Bayern Munich’s honorary president Uli Hoeneß wants the Ultras to be more moderate. “Football belongs to everyone and it is very important that the Ultras understand that they are also an important element, but that they are not allowed to determine everything on their own,” said Hoeneß (68) in “Der Sonntags-Stammtisch” on BR television. “I am always in favor of cooperation, but the Ultras must also know that football is also possible without the Ultras.”

Hoeneß recalled the Bundesliga game at the end of February 1899 between Hoffenheim and FC Bayern, when the game was about to be canceled due to insults by Bayern supporters against the Hoffenheim patron Dietmar Hopp. After such incidents, these fans should not be surprised that the “clubs take action against it.”

What Hoeneß says about the ghost games

Hoeneß rates the fact that many ultras, above all, still strictly reject ghost games. “With this, they proved to me that they are not so much about the club, but about representing themselves and themselves,” said the longtime Bayern boss. “If the ghost games had not taken place, we would have one or the other club in the first and second league that would no longer exist in professional football,” said Hoeneß.

Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge recently criticized what he considered to be an attitude of ultra fan groups in German football, which he considered to be demanding. “Unfortunately, we have now reached a point where I only read from the Ultras: we demand this, we demand that. Now they wanted to have a say in the debate about the distribution of TV money,” said the FC Bayern CEO the “sports picture”.

The fan alliance “Our Football” rejected the criticism. “Football fans give a lot – especially time and passion, everything that makes football more than just a sport,” said spokesman Jan-Henrik Gruszecki. “If you do that, you can also draw attention to things.”