Some media, politicians, police chiefs in Germany spoke about the possibility of ultras/fans attending games despite the Geisterspiele.

Incidents during the 1., 2. Bundesliga games involving fans? 0.

Were there clues to suggest this would be the case? Oh yes.

Thread. 1/22

Ultras Bochum say they will not attend the games in any form, and call for other #meinVfL fans to do the same.

“On the one hand, not to serve as the excessive football business' decoration, and on the other, for us not to endanger the containment of the virus.” 2/22

When the derby against Schalke was supposed to take place in March, Borussia Dortmund’s ultra groups said they will not attend the game or receive the players in any way, “to avoid unnecessary risk” of infections.

RN reported this stance still stands. 3/22

Werder Bremen ultra group Infamous Youth:

“It breaks our heart to follow our team from afar. But given the contact restrictions… we will not show up as a group at the stadium or around it.” 4/22

https://infamousyouth.org/kommunique-zu-den-anstehenden-geisterspielen/

HSV ultra group Castaways: 5/22 https://twitter.com/ftamsut/status/1258435287262388225

Fortuna Düsseldorf’s Ultras Düsseldorf: 6/22 https://twitter.com/ftamsut/status/1260116352884518913

Erzgebirge Aue ultra group Erzbrigade said they will not attend games or come close to the stadium. They also ask fans to do the same, “to avoid hurting our club.” 7/22

https://www.facebook.com/BlockPWismutAue/posts/3570798079613853

Arminia Bielefeld ultra group Lokal Crew called for fans not to contribute to the #coronavirus spread by showing up at the stadium. 8/22

1. FC Magdeburg’s Block U (3. Liga) have ruled out attending games as a group.

“We also think spontaneous fan congregations in Magdeburg are very unlikely,” they say. 9/22

1.FC Köln ultra group @ColoniacsUltras have called for #Effzeh fans to keep away from the stadium and avoid congregating in big numbers.

“The battle against the pandemic isn’t over yet and it still requires carefulness and solidarity.” 10/22

According to @FanladenStPauli, FC St. Pauli’s ultra groups said they will not try to attend games. They’ve also appealed to #FCSP fans to refrain from meeting in big groups. 11/22 https://twitter.com/magischerfcblog/status/1261220479051935745

Nordkurve Leverkusen:

“In regards to the question of what happens next: For us, nothing. There will be no fans gathering, neither at the stadium nor anywhere else in the city.” 12/22

SpVgg Fürth ultra group Stradevia 907:

“As a group, we will continue to look after our surroundings and act with responsibility. We will not arrange any meetings… Please do us a favor and avoid meeting in big groups.” 13/22

This is just a small selection of the many groups which ruled out attending the games or watching them together. 14/22

Of course, this does not guarantee there will be no people congregating close to stadiums at all in the coming weeks, and there are also groups which did not make such statements. 15/22

But the number of ultra groups taking this approach does show a clear tendency among large parts of Germany’s ultra scene. 16/22

It also provides yet another evidence to how diverse the ultra subculture is in Germany, and how different people express being part of it differently. Something to keep in mind the next time you hear of "the ultras" as an elusive, singular entity. 17/22

Something which is worth mentioning in this context:

RN’s report says both Borussia Dortmund and their ultra groups believe there’s a scenario of protesters against the #COVID19 measures trying to hijack Bundesliga’s attention for their purposes. 18/22

The newspaper says both #BVB and their ultras the risk of this happening is "considerably bigger" than fans turning up. 19/22

Background: In recent weekends, many German cities, including Munich, Stuttgart and others, saw protests against the #COVID19 restrictions, with thousands of people attending.

Reports suggest Germany’s far right is among those mobilizing protesters. 20/22

So if something does happen at some point in the coming weeks, let's all wait for the facts before going down the route of using old-fashioned stereotypes about football fans. 21/22

Sources: @FasziFankurve, the ultra groups' websites.

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Oh, and do follow me on Instagram, where I continue my line of fan culture updates, football, politics and loads of homemade Middle Eastern food. 22/22 https://www.instagram.com/felixtamsut