VfL Bochum is tightening the “rules of the game” after the fence flag gate, but wants to continue to promote fan culture. There are new guidelines.
The fence flag issue on the last match day continues to occupy the management of VfL Bochum – and it is now having consequences. After the 45-minute interruption during the game against VfB Stuttgart, the club is “sharpening” the rules for away fans, but wants to continue to promote fan culture. The club announced this on Friday evening.
“VfL Bochum 1848 sees itself as a promoter of fan culture and provides guest fans with an almost unrivaled amount of space for displaying fence banners at the Vonovia Ruhr Stadium,” the club wrote in a press release. ”In return, VfL expects that, in the interest of general safety and sportsmanship, the clearly defined guidelines will be adhered to.”
VfL Bochum wants to set time limits for hanging fence flags. These have been in place for a long time, and VfB Stuttgart (like all other guest clubs) was informed of them well in advance of the game. Nevertheless, VfL Bochum will change some points in the future. “VfL Bochum 1848 will review its fan information again and distribute it more widely to guest clubs in the future. This also includes the respective management. This will enable the guest club to prepare even better for the situation and conditions in the Vonovia Ruhrstadion with regard to their own fans,” the club announced.
The Bundesliga club is also taking further measures. Before the games, flyers are to be distributed to the guest fans, which explicitly state what is allowed. In addition, there are new pictorial representations of how and where the fence flags can be hung, time limits for hanging fence flags, a strengthening of the security service and a higher presence of VfL managers as contact persons.
A fence flag from VfB Stuttgart caused a security risk. What happened? When Bochum beat Stuttgart, at least one fence flag from the Ultras of VfB Stuttgart was hanging over an emergency exit through which fans could get from the stands of the Ruhr Stadium onto the pitch in an emergency. The guest fans had “used the time before the start of the first half to hang banners in violation of the rules and to conceal them with a protest banner,” the VfL announced.
This banner could have prevented an emergency exit door from opening. There was a safety risk, which is why the organizer, i.e. the Bochum team, did not want to guarantee that the game could continue without danger. There was even a risk that the game would have to be abandoned.