Tension, dislike and even hatred are natural elements of football that develop through bitter rivalries. 1860 Munich and Bayern Munich are two such bitter rivals, having developed such animosity due to being based in the same city and having to reluctantly share stadiums for much of their history.
But violence of any kind is not acceptable in any form, whether in the stadium or outside of it. Unfortunately, football fans can stoop to truly cowardly levels when they buy into their support of a club
with a certain depraved level of fanaticism. German news site Süddeutsche Zeitung (as captured by @iMiaSanMia) reports on the violence of five such examples of fanatic supporters:
A Bayern employee (a supporter liaison officer) was attacked by a group of 1860 Munich hooligans last weekend, after Bayern’s basketball game against Oldenburg, together with his wife. According to the police report, he was attacked by five men, approximately 20 years old, wearing blue neck gaiters. The target of the attack was the employee’s banner, well-known within the fan scene, bearing the inscription “Red Munichs.” He was kicked repeatedly, and a person who rushed to help was pushed onto traffic.
The attack is seen as retaliation for an attempt by Bayern fans a few weeks ago to steal the banner of the 1860 Munich ultra group “Blue Vikings.” During the incident, an 1860 fan was beaten up, but he was not in possession of the banner.
Banners are considered sacred within the Ultras scene, and stealing them is a major coup for the opposition. Experts now fear an escalation if the stolen “Red Munichs” banner is displayed by 1860 Munich fans in the stadium in the coming weeks.
That is horrible stuff. Hopefully there will be no escalation, the victims recover well and the 5 perpetrators are caught.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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