February 20 – Monday night games may have become relatively commonplace in the English Premier League but in Germany fans don’t take kindly to traditions being constantly eroded.
Yesterday the start of both halves in Eintracht Frankfurt’s 2-1 win over visiting RB Leipzig 2-1 was delayed when hundreds of tennis balls were hurled on to the pitch.
The match was the first of five Monday night games scheduled to be played in the Bundesliga this season, a decision which has angered supporters.
Hundreds of fans left the terraces shortly before kickoff and occupied the area behind the pitch with banners that carried slogans such as ‘No to Monday night football’, delaying the start of the match for six minutes.
Before the beginning of the second half, hundreds of green tennis balls were thrown onto the pitch while toilet rolls were hurled at the goals, causing a further delay. Instead of singing, fans whistled constantly for much of the game.
Frankfurt supporters groups had called for the protests on Friday, saying that the league and clubs were “prepared to sacrifice our interests for the smallest of financial gains.”
“As long as they have a few more euros in their pockets, they couldn’t care less how many days’ holiday we need to take to attend an away game,” said a statement from the fans. “Marketing is their highest priority.”
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