FC Energie Cottbus are doing well in sporting terms, but there is unrest off the pitch. A hefty pyro penalty was handed down – and prompted the president to make an appeal.

FC Energie Cottbus must pay 17,160 euros for the burning of pyrotechnics by some fans at the match against Chemie Leipzig on March 27 of this year. In a statement, the club spoke of a fine of an “appalling amount”.

During the Regionalliga Nordost match, Cottbus supporters had repeatedly set off pyrotechnics. The match was interrupted for two minutes. FC Energie is allowed to use up to 5,600 euros for security-related measures.

In particular, the penalty was increased as follows due to multiple incidents during the 2023/2024 season: “It is not apparent to the sports court that the club itself would have initiated necessary preventive measures with regard to the repeated unsportsmanlike conduct of part of its fan base. Against this background, the sixth violation of sports law up to the 26th league matchday, the sports court considers the further increase of the penalty by 20 percent, i.e. a further 1960 euros, to be appropriate.”

Cottbus have already had to pay a total fine of €31,035, not including the incidents at the away matches in Zwickau, FC Carl Zeiss Jena and SV Babelsberg 03 and the home match against Greifswalder FC.

This prompted President Sebastian Lemke to make an urgent statement in which he asked the fans to pull themselves together in the season finale: “I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to all Energiefans, all supporters and friends of our club. Behave in front of and inside the stadium in such a way that, despite all the emotion, there are no incidents involving pyrotechnics or riots and therefore no penalties for our club. That is simply too much!”

He continues: “We have a big goal and we want to focus on this goal together, without any background noise or disruptive fire. In the truest sense of the word! Everyone must understand that these ongoing penalties are such a burden on the club that the money will ultimately be lacking in necessary areas. In addition, we still have the high-security match at BFC Dynamo on May 4 ahead of us. We all hope for your active participation and would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your peaceful and vocal support.”

FC Energie Cottbus are top of the table in the Regionalliga Nordost and have promotion to the third division in their own hands. This year, the relegation of the regional league champions will take place between the North and Bavaria divisions.