03-01-2020, 09:05 AM
Bayern players’ keep-ball protest over banner
March 1, 2020
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The Hoffenheim owner is a divisive figure in German football, having bankrolled the Sinsheim club from the fifth tier up to the Bundesliga and being an exception to the 50+1 rule stating fans must own the majority of their club’s shares.
March 1, 2020
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BAYERN Munich’s 6-0 win at Hoffenheim ended in bizarre fashion on Saturday when both teams played keep-ball as a protest after travelling fans unfurled an offensive banner aimed at the Hoffenheim owner.
The Bundesliga leaders were cruising to their ninth win in their last ten league games at the PreZero Arena when the away section displayed a banner insulting Dietmar Hopp in the 67th minute.
It was put away after Bayern players, coaches and staff hurried over to the away section to plead with their fans, but was then rolled out again ten minutes later as the same Bayern contingent confronted the travelling fans once more.
Referee Bastian Dankert stopped play for five minutes and sent both teams to the changing rooms as part of the second step of the German FA’s three-stage protocol for an official break in play, with the game in serious risk of abandonment had the banner been displayed a third time.
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The clash ended in farcical scenes as both sets of players agreed to pass the ball between each other for the remaining 13 minutes as the clock ticked down in support of Hopp – who watched on from the stands and received an immediate apology from Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
According to Sky in Germany, the control committee of the German Football Association (DFB) will open an investigation into the incident early next week – but the result will stand as the match was effectively completed.
The Hoffenheim owner is a divisive figure in German football, having bankrolled the Sinsheim club from the fifth tier up to the Bundesliga and being an exception to the 50+1 rule stating fans must own the majority of their club’s shares.