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FOOTBALL

Police union demands football summit on hooligan violence

The GdP police union on Tuesday demanded a “football summit” in light of escalating violence by hooligans that has been pushing German police forces to their breaking point.

Police union demands football summit on hooligan violence
Photo: DPA

Jörg Rades, a GdP board member, called on the German Football Association, national railway operator Deutsche Bahn, and fan groups to come together to stop such violence from further escalation.

He said hooligan violence was on the rise following the creation of the new third division Bundesliga, which set up sporting clashes among several clubs with long traditions and often fanatic supporters.

“The authorities always have to assume there will be horrific riots caused by rival hooligans for numerous fixtures,” Rades said.

But questionable fan behaviour isn’t limited to Germany’s lower divisions.

Dietmar Hopp, the backer of newly-promoted Bundesliga side Hoffenheim, said Tuesday he will press charges against a Borussia Dortmund fan arrested for displaying a banner threatening to kill him.

A teenage Dortmund supporter was arrested for holding up a poster showing Hopp’s face in a crosshair under the message “Hasta La Vista Hopp!” at the Carl-Benz Stadium on Sunday before Hoffenheim’s 4-1 home win over Dortmund. German tabloid Bild reported the fan also hurled the insult “son of a whore” at Hopp.

Police arrested a 19-year-old man from Halbstadt in the central German state of Saxony-Anhalt before kick-off.

“We will press charges,” Hopp, a multi-millionaire, told Bild. “A murder threat is not anything to be taken lightly. This is not something you can ignore and it is important to send out a clear signal that a line has been crossed.”

Hopp’s lawyer is looking into whether to also launch civil prosecution against the teenager.

Dortmund bosses have apologized to Hopp. “What happened was embarrassing, shameful and unbecoming,” Dortmund’s managing director Hans Joachim Watzke said.

But it’s not the first time fans have attacked Hopp, who was insulted by Borussia Mönchengladbach fans on the second weekend of the season. The multi-millionaire knows fans don’t care for the money he has pumped into Hoffenheim and he rarely goes to away games.

The SAP entrepreneur became Hoffenheim’s chief backer when they were in the eighth league of German football and fulfilled his dream for them to reach the Bundesliga when they won promotion last season.

RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

https://twitter.com/GravesenFumado/status/1764242481984491822

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

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