Hundreds of 1. FC Köln fans, mainly from the active fan scene, criticized the strip searches around the derby at Bayer Leverkusen (0:2) and boycotted the game. Clear words from the fan support group.
Following the fan boycott of the Rhine derby between Bayer Leverkusen and 1. FC Köln, the Cologne police clarified the procedure for the checks from their point of view. A police spokesperson stated that a man who was checked had taken off his pants of his own accord.
On Saturday, the police told dpa that, contrary to reports from fan groups, there had been no “strip searches.”
Fan support group Fanhilfe Köln wrote on X on Saturday: “After the strip searches took place, the active fan scene decided to leave the stadium together.”
In protest against the police action, around 500 people from the active Cologne fan scene left together before kick-off. On Sunday, Fanhilfe contradicted the police’s account, citing a fan who was affected and with whom they were in contact.
“If a person is asked to remove all their clothing and remain in their underwear during a police check, and if their private parts are then inspected, then this is generally understood to be a strip search, regardless of the official designation,” said the fan support group in its statement. The measure was “harassment of soccer fans.” In a statement issued by the police on Sunday, it was reported that a man had been checked in the visitors’ area for attempting to enter without a valid ticket. During a superficial search for identification documents in the area of his pants pocket, suspicious objects were felt on the 24-year-old. When asked to produce them, the man took off his pants and handed the officers a mouth guard and two bandages, which he had been carrying in his underwear.
Fanhilfe, in turn, asks whether the police are searching for tickets in the genital area. After 500 people from the active Cologne fan scene had left, the Bayer ultras also left the arena in the first half. According to Leverkusen, the regular admission checks in the guest area proceeded “calmly and without incident.”
Statement from Fanhilfe Köln
Following accusations by Fanhilfe Kölsche Klüngel, the police have publicly stated that no strip searches were carried out in connection with the admission checks of soccer fans. However, this statement contradicts the account of an affected fan with whom we are in contact.
We would therefore like to clarify:
If a person is asked to remove all their clothing and remain in their underwear during a police check, and if their private parts are then inspected, then this is generally understood to be a strip search, regardless of the official designation.
According to the police, the measure was intended to identify the fan. In fact, however, the check was carried out because the fan in question was unable to produce a valid ticket. Against this background, a key question arises: Was the intimate area actually searched for one or more tickets?
We clearly call this measure what it is: harassment of soccer fans – excessive, inappropriate, and in no way proportionate. In addition, the social education fan project staff who were present and became aware of the measure were told that they could not accompany the fan and could not perform their actual duties.
We expect the police to provide a transparent and accurate assessment of such measures. Euphemistic language does not contribute to clarification. Instead, there needs to be a serious discussion of the proportionality and dignity-violating effect of such checks.