Axel Hellmann, board member at Eintracht Frankfurt, has commented and clearly positioned himself on the exclusion of Frankfurt fans from the away game in the Champions League at SSC Napoli.
Before the duel with Liverpool FC (final score: 1:5), Hellmann was asked by DAZN presenter Laura Wontorra why Eintracht had failed to apply for a transfer to UEFA?
Frankfurt boss tough: “Unsustainable situation”
“The UEFA regulations don’t allow for this at the moment, but I think it’s an untenable situation,” said the Eintracht boss angrily: “It can’t be the case that people say: ‘We can’t guarantee the safety of the fans and that’s why there can’t be any there.'”
Against the background of the officially ordered exclusion of supporters, Eintracht had submitted a request to UEFA to relocate it to a neutral location or to host the event behind closed doors. However, this was rejected by the umbrella organization “as expected”. The game on November 4th will therefore take place as planned in Naples and without Eintracht fans.
Axel Hellmann sharply criticizes UEFA
“This is not a good path for European football. That’s why UEFA would be well advised to take action and change the regulations,” Hellmann made clear.
Expert Sami Khedira, who, among other things, works as a consultant for the UEFA acts, shared Hellmann’s opinion: “I completely agree with that. People with a German passport were not allowed to attend the game. I had to cancel so many tickets, which made me personally very, very sad – because it is a football festival.”
Of course, safety is above all else, “but any club can go there and end up saying: ‘Nope. I don’t want to.’ In the end it is a clear competitive advantage, or in this case a disadvantage for the guests from Frankfurt,” Khedira also made clear.
Khedira sees Frankfurt at a disadvantage
On the recommendation of the police, the Prefect of Naples imposed a ban on the sale of tickets to people residing in Frankfurt for the entire stadium.
There is currently “no instrument to take action against this practice and the resulting atmospheric and therefore sporting competitive disadvantage or at least to compensate for it,” Eintracht board member Philipp Reschke also explained. According to the SGE, UEFA confirmed in its response that it was “working intensively on adapting the regulations in view of the increasing exclusion practice”.
Serious riots in Naples
During the last duel between the two teams in the round of 16 of the premier class in the 2022/23 season, there were serious riots in Naples, which resulted in numerous arrests. At that time too, the Italian authorities had banned the sale of tickets to people residing in Frankfurt.
Nevertheless, Eintracht fans arrived and fought street battles with the police and Napoli supporters, and a police car even caught fire. At the time, Italian media spoke of “guerrilla” fighting in the streets and alleys of the city.
With Sports Information Service (SID)
