Rot-Weiss Essen officials have once again had to comment on the misconduct of some Essen fans during the current season. Now a new attempt is being made to find solutions to the problem.

Rot-Weiss Essen is currently experiencing ongoing problems with a small section of its fan base. This group is causing RWE to repeatedly appear in a negative light nationwide. In March, referee Fabienne Michel was verbally abused by RWE fans during an away game in Verl. RWE was subsequently fined €20,000. Michel also filed a civil lawsuit.

Then, during the game against Schweinfurt, flyers were distributed in the west stand. They outlined the “seven principles for W2.” The last point on the flyer caused further controversy: “No women in the front rows.” The flyer attracted negative attention nationwide. And now, against Energie Cottbus, not only was there a home defeat, but RWE fans attracted negative attention twice over. Part of the refereeing team was hit on the head by a plastic cup thrown from the main stand. The perpetrator has not yet been identified.

Long after the game, some Essen fans gathered in the west stand to chant discriminatory songs in the direction of the visitors’ block. “Hey, let’s go, we’ll push them all away,” was one of the chants. The content of the lyrics and melody clearly refer to the AfD’s “deportation song.”

Essen officials quickly and clearly distanced themselves from these slogans and from the cup thrower. In the fifth episode of “Was geht, RWE?” (What’s up, RWE?), an internal YouTube format, Essen board member Alexander Rang announced how the club intends to tackle this problem.

First, however, he reiterated his opinion of these despicable chants: “These things have made us thoughtful and sad. We cannot understand or tolerate these chants. This brings us back to our statutes and our fundamental attitude. After we already had a considerable discussion after Schweinfurt, we now have another one. The club has once again been clearly damaged.”

Therefore, attempts are now being made to bring many areas together around one table. Rang explains: “We have set up a fan working group. Protagonists from all areas are participating: the police, the city, the fan representative on the supervisory board, another member of the supervisory board, the FFA (fan and support department), and the AWO. In other words, everyone who bears responsibility on match days. We expect the working group to discuss precisely these issues and find solutions.”

So that in future, we can focus more on the sport and less on these side issues. After all, they always end up costing the club money – such as the cup throwing incident.

Rang’s appeal: “This issue will also have financial implications for us. We are grateful for any information that could help identify the person who threw the cup. It is unacceptable that individuals should jeopardize the overall result.”