Chaos weeks in the Bundesliga
Ultras Zoff escalates the eternal Hertha BSC crisis
01/28/2022, 8:05 p.m
Always something going on at Hertha BSC. Rarely on the pitch. Hertha regularly picks up rubdowns there. That puts the Ultras against the team. A peace talk fails and suddenly you are not only in a relegation battle, but also in open conflict with the fans.
Berlin is seething. Once again a tough relegation battle in the Bundesliga, only three points ahead of relegation rank 16 – and now also an open conflict with the Ultras: The situation at Hertha BSC is explosive after the club took legal action against parts of the Bundesliga in response to the most recent incident organized fan scene.
This decision, which Hertha communicated on Thursday, will hardly relax the relationship with the Ultras. They are angry about the overall situation: 13th place, 22 points – and the trend is downwards. Coach Tayfun Korkut, who came for the dismissed Pal Dardai at the end of November, had already tried to calm down last Monday with a view to the sporting situation.
“Hertha isn’t the first club I’ve taken on in a situation like this. And calm is incredibly important, inner peace and belief in what we’re doing,” said the 47-year-old: “The last week won’t blow us away, I’m sure.” But even before that, after the end of the DFB Cup round of 16 against city rivals Union Berlin (2: 3), the displeasure of the fans had erupted.
About 80 supporters interrupted the non-public final training last Saturday before the game against Bayern Munich (1:4). “Now pull yourselves on the belt or we’ll ignite the next level,” complained a fan spokesman, as can be seen on video recordings. That stage now seemed to be reached quickly – but differently than expected.
Hertha’s claim is rejected
On Wednesday, the managing directors Ingo Schiller and Fredi Bobic met with fan representatives. In that dialogue, Hertha emphasized “that there is an understanding of criticism and messages and that dialogue is the means of choice,” it said in a club statement. At the same time, the club criticized the actions of the fans, since “limits had been crossed in many ways”.
Furthermore, Schiller and Bobic had demanded “a statement in the form of a public apology for this action and the incident”, which the fans were not willing to do. As a result, Hertha felt compelled to “examine all necessary legal measures and initiate them accordingly”. According to “Bild”, there should be ads for trespassing and coercion.
For the Berliners, who have been without a win three times in the league, the quarrels come at an inopportune time. After the international break, VfL Bochum is waiting next Friday (8.30 p.m./DAZN and in the ntv.de live ticker), on the day after that the SpVgg Greuther Fürth. Both promoted players must be defeated, or the Korkut team may already be on a relegation zone.
To prevent this, Bobic continues to explore the transfer market. In defense, the club had already improved with Marc Oliver Kempf (VfB Stuttgart) and Fredrik Andre Björkan (FK Bodö/Glimt). According to “Kicker”, Hertha is interested in winger Dong-Jun Lee for the ailing offensive, the South Korean international is under contract with Ulsan Hyundai in his home country, Bayer Leverkusen’s Lucas Alario is an issue for the storm center. Eintracht Frankfurt’s Danny da Costa is also associated with Hertha.