The DFB sports tribunal has fined VfB Stuttgart €15,000 following the “misconduct of its fans” in the immediate aftermath of the crucial final-day clash with 1. FC Köln on 14 May, thereby rejecting the club’s appeal. VfB will now discuss whether to take up the matter with the DFB federal court.
“I think it’s a shame that the sports court punishes peaceful and spontaneous emotions, like the ones we witnessed after our last-gasp survival on 14 May,” said VfB CEO Alexander Wehrle following the hearing in Frankfurt. “These emotions after a historic season finale, both for VfB and the Bundesliga as a whole, were an expression of happiness and enthusiasm and therefore, from our point of view, aren’t anything VfB should be punished for – particularly as we did nothing wrong in terms of security and prevention.”
Wehrle also called for changes to the current sanction system. “If a fine is issued, we should at least think about how it is applied,” he said. “After two years of coronavirus, which have left many areas of grassroots sport in dire straits, professional clubs and regional football associations should aim to support regional and local clubs with the sums that the DFB sports court imposes on us as sanctions. This is an urgent, necessary step to bring the whole of German football together in solidarity. As an example, we’d like to use our fine to support the youth work at amateur clubs via the Stuttgart football district.”