It is already clear that Eintracht Frankfurt fans will remember this away game for a long time. It doesn’t matter how the second leg in the Champions League round of 16 at SSC Napoli ends, it doesn’t matter whether they are allowed to play on Wednesday or not. The posse about the Eintracht supporters’ stadium or travel ban is now entering the next round – and it is unlikely that the story will end there.
The latest volte: After the Prefecture of Naples decreed on Sunday evening that no tickets may be sold to people residing in Frankfurt, Eintracht will now waive the away contingent of tickets. Philipp Reschke, board member at SGE, spoke of “arbitrariness of the authorities” after the decision became known and announced that the club would lodge further appeals.
“The new decree is no less illegal in content and justification and also completely unsuitable because two thirds of our fans are known to come from the Rhine-Main region and not from Frankfurt,” Reschke is quoted as saying in a communiqué from Eintracht: “In view of At the moment it’s all about the principle and the future.” That means: The club now wants to create a kind of precedent by taking legal action so that such exclusions do not occur again, also with a view to away trips by other European clubs.
The relationship between those responsible for both clubs is broken
A positioning of the European Football Confederation is likely to be indispensable for this project. But Uefa has remained silent since the Italian security authorities imposed a stadium ban on away fans last week. The 2,700 tickets to which the visiting club was entitled were not allowed to be offered for sale – at that time, regardless of the supporter’s place of residence. The decision was finally collected by the administrative court of the Campania region and declared as “disproportionate”.
SSC Napoli then expressed concern that there could be riots around the game, which Eintracht did not want to leave as it was: It was rather the Italian state that was not fulfilling its order and protection function it from Frankfurt. This not only distorts the competition, but also puts football fans under general suspicion.
So on Sunday the decree that no tickets may be sold to people residing in Frankfurt. It remains to be seen whether the Prefecture of Naples has increased security in the city or initiated the exact opposite. In any case, a lack of guest fans is not to be expected on Wednesday. According to reports, charter flights that have already been canceled are being booked again and around 2000 Frankfurt fans are expected in Naples, who will have to reckon with police reprisals due to the controversial background. This results in an explosive mixture – and an unclear danger situation until at least Thursday noon.
Before the first leg three weeks ago, there was a friendly exchange between the two clubs, including a small gala dinner with the respective club officials, as is customary before Champions League evenings. Eintracht will not do that this time, and only a small delegation will travel to Naples as a protest. The club’s diplomatic means are more or less exhausted.
What is at stake from the point of view of the Eintracht supporters could be read on Monday from a statement by a board member of the Frankfurt fan department: “It endangers the whole European culture of traveling away if it is so easy to exclude guest fans. Ultimately it works all the magic of the European Cup to the dogs,” said Dario Minden.
