Throwing Tennis Balls: Union Berlin Fans Protest Scheduling
During Union Berlin’s 3-1 away victory in Mainz, located around 600 kilometers away, fans of the team expressed their frustration by throwing over 50 tennis balls and a volleyball onto the pitch. A banner displayed by Union supporters read: “Schedule kickoff times fairly. Season 25/26: 7000 km on Sundays, your scheduling remains a joke.” The match was briefly paused for six minutes as a result. Union played on Sundays a total of nine times, with six of those matches being away games (Freiburg, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Dortmund, FC St. Pauli, Mainz).
Freiburg Leads Sunday Matches
SC Freiburg claimed the title of “Sunday Champions” in the Bundesliga, as they had to play on Sundays 19 times due to their lengthy Europa League journey to the final against Aston Villa (20.05). Never before has a team played on Sundays so frequently in a single season. In contrast, Bayer Leverkusen only played two Sunday matches, none of which were away games. Captain Christopher Trimmel (39) stated: “Football belongs to the fans. Such match times are really challenging. Considering that the guys and girls in the stands now have to travel back home incredibly far and work on Monday – a very, very difficult situation.” Union only played at the prime time slot on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. once (Bayern and Dortmund ten times each, Cologne eight times).
Memories from Two Years Ago
Around two years ago, fans of Bundesliga clubs regularly caused interruptions by throwing tennis balls onto the pitch to protest a potential investor entry into the Bundesliga. Ultimately, a DFL investor did not join. This season, on matchday 24, the tennis balls made a comeback. During the HSV vs. RB Leipzig match (1:2), fans from the north stand threw tennis balls onto the pitch after nine seconds. The Hamburg home fans also protested against the 7:30 p.m. kickoff time. HSV staff then cleared the balls from the field. After a 80-second pause, the match resumed.
The Tennis Ball Protest Likely Ineffective
Unfortunately, the fan protest is unlikely to be effective. The disliked scheduling on Sundays is linked to the allocation of TV broadcasting rights, which are secured until the 2028/2029 season. This season already saw fifteen 7:30 p.m. matches instead of ten. This is not expected to change in the upcoming season.
