Pyrotechnics ban remains in place in German football

A pyrotechnics ban remains in place at German football matches, and football officials have also agreed at a meeting with politicians on Friday to centralize stadium ban procedures for violent fans.

Both decisions were swiftly dismissed by fan organizations as "populist", and top football official Hans-Joachim Watzke said prior to the Munich meeting that football had no major problem with violence.

Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann had invited politicians from other federal states and representatives from the German Football Federation (DFB) and the league DFL to a top-level meeting to discuss holding football authorities more accountable in the fight against fan violence.

No pyrotechnics

Pyrotechnics are set off frequently at matches despite being illegal, leading the fines for the clubs, and that position will not change.

"We're not talking about a huge disaster, but it's still simply dangerous. And we are the organizers, so we can't allow it," said Watzke, who chairs the DFL supervisory board, is a DFB vice-president and managing director of Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund.

Watzke said he understands the ongoing debate but that it was not possible under current standards to legalise it, and that pyrotechnics has little to do with the game itself.

"There was a unanimous agreement," he said.

New commission for stadium bans

The football officials also agreed with the ministers to handle the ban of violent offenders from stadiums in a more uniform way in the future.

A corresponding commission is to be set up within the DFL, Herrmann said. Further details are still to be discussed.

Politicians believe that more consistent stadium bans will lead to less violence.

However, experts and fan representatives argue that such measures will have no effect and call for more dialogue instead of sanctions.

Fan group not impressed

Fan group Unsere Kurve (Our curve) swiftly slammed the results of the meeting, saying that local stadium banning commissions have proven themselves over more than 10 years and that a pyrotechnics ban was ineffective.

"What has now happened is exactly what the fans predicted - populist demands are being trumpeted, but there is no sign of any expertise," Unsere Kurve spokesman Thomas Kesse said.

"That's what happens when you don't talk to each other, but only about each other."

Watzke: Football has no big violence problem

Watzke had earlier refuted accusations from politicians that football has a major problem with fan violence, saying "I think that the football experience is very peaceful.

He conceded that "there are always excesses" but that this was "the case in society as a whole" and that the issue is being blown out of proportion.

"You can compare it to the Oktoberfest," he said, adding that the injury figures at Munich's famous beer fest are similar.

"I read that the Bavarian police wrote that the Oktoberfest was a peaceful, happy festival. And we're meeting here today on the topic 'violence in football.' Somehow that doesn't fit. You have to try to find the right proportion."