Wednesday September 15, 2021
Hitler salute and monkey sounds
Extreme right-wing escalation in regional league
By Stephan Uersfeld
The regional league game between BFC Dynamo and Chemie Leipzig is classified as a risk game. It remains quiet for a long time. But then the situation escalates. Hitler salutes are heard in the stands, monkeys can be heard. The guests from Leipzig demand a rethinking of the association.
Nine injured people, Hitler greetings, monkey sounds, a trainer who is told that his “clan belongs to the gassed”, and a player who now has a complaint on his neck due to a physical assault on a police officer: the result of the regional league game between BFC Dynamo and Chemie Leipzig (2-0) is devastating. The responsible association has initiated a sports court case, the police recorded and wrote nine reports. Both Clubs react, The Berlin police contradict the hosts on a central point and scratch the credibility of the Berlin statements.
In the aftermath of the game, all observers spoke of a largely calm meeting in the Sportforum Hohenschönhausen, the home of the BFC Dynamo, precisely because the game had been classified as a risk game beforehand. The responsible Northeast German Football Association (NOFV) had specially sent a safety officer, Lutz Mende.
The rivalry between the two clubs goes back a long way into the history of GDR football. Some, BFC Dynamo, are sponsored by the state and the others, BSG Chemie, belong to the opposition alongside Union Berlin. In November 1990, in the run-up to a game between the two teams, there was a hooligan summit near the Leutzscher train station near the Leipzig stadium. An 18-year-old BFC fan, Mike Polley, was fatally hit by police bullets. The death was the cause of the cancellation of the planned international union match between the national teams of the GDR and the Federal Republic.
After many years in different leagues, both teams met again for the first time in 2017. Over the years, the BFC had developed into a club whose event-oriented, i.e. violent, part was largely recruited from the right-wing camp. The club only fought against the image half-heartedly. Chemie Leipzig, on the other hand, is more likely to be assigned to the left-wing camp. So those were the lines of conflict that also reached into politics before this regional league game.
“Monkey sounds and racist abuse words”
Around 450 guest fans made their way to Berlin to support their team traveling as outsiders. It shouldn’t be long. BFC Dynamo, the leaders of the Regionalliga Nordost, won with some difficulty 2-0 (1-0). The real problems didn’t start until deep in the second half, while the guests were pushing for an equalizer. Although: There was an incident in the stands during the first half. After Max Klump’s opening goal in the 36th minute, the goal celebration should have escalated for the first time.
A fan assigned to the BFC camp is said to have shown the so-called Hitler salute five times. He was taken from the block a little later. A spokesman for the Berlin police told ntv.de that he is now being investigated because of Section 86a of the Criminal Code, the use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations. He contradicted this at a central point Statement from the Berlin club. “After evaluating the video recordings by the police, the criminal suspicion could not be confirmed,” said the BFC on the club’s own website. The police spokesman explicitly contradicted this representation to ntv.de.
After a good hour it got more restless. Chemistry player Benjamin Luis came on as a substitute, “who had already been replaced by several (not just one) BFC supporters because of his skin color when he was substituted on and during the rest of the game,” said Chemie Leipzig on Tuesday with. At least once, the monkey sounds can also be clearly heard on the soundtracks. The BFC later spoke of “a single person” and added: “Committed bystanders BFC fans immediately intervened and prevented this unfair and unworthy behavior.”
“Unbearable perpetrator-victim reversal”
Since UEFA’s three-stage racism protocol also applies in the regional league, which states that a referee must stop the game and make a stadium announcement as soon as he becomes aware of the first racist insult, it must be assumed that the referee either did not hear the abuse or not considered condemnable.
After the game, all observers agree that the situation escalated. After saying goodbye to their own fans, the people of Leipzig went back to the coaching bench, which was positioned directly in front of the BFC fan block. They wanted to get their remaining clothing and were pelted with “objects”. That much is clear. According to Leipzig, these were also “drinking cups filled with gravel.” In addition, chemistry trainer Miroslav Jagatic was said to have been called out by an individual “Your clan belongs to be gassed”. The trainer then lost his composure for a short time. The BFC writes that Jagatic has “fueled” the situation “with his behavior”. For Chemie Leipzig an “unbearable perpetrator-victim reversal”.
Meanwhile, the fan groups had met. Home fans are said to have tried to get into the guest area. Here, too, the BFC contradicts. He accuses the chemistry fans of trying to storm the home block. Again testimony stands against testimony. All parties agree that something has happened. The police confirmed the use of irritant gas against both fan groups. After that, the situation calmed down in the stands.
Application for sports court proceedings
A chemistry player, Anton Kanther, collided with a plainclothes policeman on the pitch. According to the Leipzig team, he mistook him for a fan. The emergency services are said to have put him in a headlock and the Leipziger defended himself. As the spokesman for the Berlin police ntv.de confirmed, a complaint has been written against the 20-year-old for assaulting a police officer. A total of nine advertisements were received in the aftermath of the game. Trespassing, assault, using the marks of unconstitutional organizations, trespassing, assaulting a police officer, insult: a wild mix that will occupy the judiciary for some time. The police also reported a total of nine injured people: five police officers and four fans who reported after the use of irritant gas.
What’s happening now? On Tuesday, the NOFV informed ntv.de on request that based on the match report and the protocol of the security observation, an application for the opening of a sports court case had been made. The security officer Lutz Mende confirmed: “Both clubs are being investigated,” said the brief statement. Chemie Leipzig calls on the association to “finally take racism and anti-Semitism in the stadiums seriously as a social problem”.
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One Response
Union Berlin belonged to the opposition? That’s a myth (if we are talking politics here). Yes, Union was opposed to BFC Dynamo. But the club was not any sort of political opposition. (The club suffered badly in the shadow of powerhouse BFC Dynamo. But Union still belonged to the upper tier of elite clubs. As a football club, it was undoubtedly more privileged than BSG Chemie Leipzig.) Union Berlin was state financed. All decisions in the club had to be reported to the DTSB, which in stood under direct control of the SED Central Committee. The most important positions on the board were occupied by SED functionaries and directors of state-owned enterprises. The founding of the Union was organized by Hans Modrow (the last communist premier of East Germany) and the club was supported by the SED in East Berlin. I mean, these were politicians from the ruling Communist Party. People who belonged to the same regime that the Stasi was tasked with protecting.