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Pyrotechnics: German clubs fined €12m by DFB

Pyrotechnics: German clubs fined €12m by DFB

German professional football clubs were fined €12 million by the ruling body DFB in the past season 2024-25, mainly for the use of pyrotechnics. This is prohibited at matches but there have been calls for other solutions from fans and clubs as the fines show little effect on the issue. The DFB said that the sum is a little lower than the €12.5 million clubs from the three top divisions were fined in the previous season 2023-24. Cologne were fined the biggest sum of €924,355, followed by Eintracht Frankfurt (€764,600) and SV Hamburg ($623,555). Cologne and Hamburg were in the second division last season. The third division saw an overall increase from €1.5 million to €2.24 million in 2024-25, led by Dynamo Dresden's €428,460. Fines for Bundesliga and second division clubs were around €1 million lower. Clubs can use a certain percentage of a fine for violence prevention measures which means that the DFB eventually received around €8 million. Of those, €6 million were donated to football foundations. The collective DFB fines are a heavy burden for some second and third division clubs, and it appears they don't appear to be a useful deterrent as police have noted a 73% increase of pyrotechnics incidents in the 2024-125 season. Several clubs want the fines abolished in cases when pyrotechnics is not misused. Jost Peter from fan group Unsere Kurve (Our Curve) told dpa the police statistics highlights "how ineffective the DFB's punishment model remains." Matthias Tillmann, chairman of the board at second division leaders Schalke, shared the concern and called for more practical solutions. "We can see that it's not working at the moment. Simply saying that clubs have to pay a certain amount per flare that is lit obviously does not lead to fewer pyrotechnics being set off," Tillmann told the dpa. "Instead, it happens in an uncontrolled manner and is therefore more dangerous than if it were done in a controlled manner. "We need to approach the discussion more openly. Perhaps there are ways to set off pyrotechnics in a controlled manner or to work with cold pyrotechnics. Ultimately, the question is: what can be done to ensure that people in the stadium are not endangered? And at the same time, to strengthen the unique fan culture."

German foreign policy head backs German-French push on Russia

German foreign policy head backs German-French push on Russia

A German-French initiative for coordinating European plans for a ceasefire in Ukraine should be launched, the head of the German parliament's foreign policy committee told dpa. "Europe must make its own strong foreign and security policy," Armin Laschet, a member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), said. "This includes being autonomous, being sovereign and not conveying our own European ideas via American mediators," he said. Laschet said a European peace plan agreed with Ukraine was needed, which could then be presented to Russia from a position of strength. He noted that Europe had worked out its own peace plan and conveyed this to Russia through US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law. Needing Witkoff and Kushner to convey something to Moscow was not an indication of European self-confidence or sovereignty, Laschet said. French President Emmanuel Macron said recently that it could be useful for Europe and Ukraine to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin in order to be directly involved in a ceasefire agreement. Putin has stated his readiness to talk to Macron, and Paris intends to decide how these talks could take place. Laschet called for any initiative on contact with Moscow to be launched by Berlin and Paris together. "Without Germany and France, Europe cannot take shape," he said. Talks between Macron and Putin had to be embedded in Europe, Laschet said, noting that Macron had always backed European solutions. Laschet, a CDU veteran, is seen as a passionate supporter of German-French cooperation and has been rewarded by Paris with France's Legion of Honour decoration.