Hundreds of 1. FC Köln fans, primarily from the active fan scene, criticized the strip searches surrounding the derby at Bayer Leverkusen (0–2) and boycotted the game. Fanhilfe speaks out clearly.
Following the fan boycott during the Rhine Derby between Bayer Leverkusen and 1. FC Köln, the Cologne Police clarified the sequence of events surrounding the searches from their perspective. A police spokesperson stated that a man being searched had taken off his pants of his own accord.
On Saturday, in response to a dpa inquiry, the police had stated that, contrary to reports from fan circles, there had been no “strip searches.”
Fanhilfe Köln had posted on X on Saturday: “After strip searches took place, the active fan scene decided to leave the stadium en masse.”
In protest against the police action, around 500 people from Cologne’s active fan scene left the stadium en masse before kickoff. On Sunday, Fanhilfe contradicted the police’s account, citing a fan affected by the incident with whom they were in contact.
“If, during a police check, a person is instructed to remove all clothing and remain only in underwear, and if a view of their private parts is subsequently taken, then—regardless of the official terminology—this is, by common understanding, a strip search,” stated Fanhilfe in its statement. The measure was described as “harassment of soccer fans.”
In a statement released by the police on Sunday, it was reported that a man had been stopped in the visitors’ section for attempting to enter without a valid ticket. During a cursory search for identification 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 mouthguard and two bandages, which he had been carrying in his underwear.
Fanhilfe, in turn, asks whether the police were searching for tickets in people’s private areas. After 500 people from Cologne’s active fan scene had left, the Bayer ultras also exited the arena during the first half. According to Leverkusen officials, the regular admission checks in the visitors’ section proceeded “calmly and without incident.”
The statement from Fanhilfe Köln
Following the allegations made by Fanhilfe Kölsche Klüngel, the police have publicly stated that no strip searches were conducted in connection with the admission checks of soccer fans. However, this account contradicts the description provided by an affected fan with whom we are in contact.
We therefore wish to clarify:
If, during a police check, a person is instructed to remove all clothing and remain only in underwear, and if a view of their private parts is subsequently taken, then—regardless of the official terminology—this is, by common understanding, a strip search.
According to the police, the measure was intended to identify the fan. In fact, however, the search took place because the fan in question could not produce a valid ticket. Against this backdrop, a key question arises: Was a search actually conducted in the genital area for one or more tickets?
We clearly call this measure what it is: harassment of soccer fans—excessive, inappropriate, and in no way proportionate. Furthermore, when staff members from the social-educational fan project who were present and became aware of the measure were asked about it, they were told otherwise, preventing them from accompanying the fan and carrying out their actual duties.
We expect the police to provide a transparent and accurate explanation of such measures. Euphemisms do not contribute to clarifying the situation. Instead, there needs to be a serious examination of the issue of proportionality and the degrading effect of such checks.