February 2024 in Dilbeek, 80 hooligans from Frankfurt are arrested as a preventive measure because they are part of the hard core, with neo-Nazi tendencies.
February 2024 in Frankfurt, around ten local hooligans try to force the barrier of the stands to fight with the Union supporters but are stopped by the police.
“A police force never seen before” around Lotto Park in view of the Union-Frankfurt match: German supporters reputed to be among the most violent
The reputation of Frankfurt’s hooligans is well established, certainly not in Belgium: they are among the most dangerous in Germany, in a country still plagued by the phenomenon with still 3,000 “hools” recorded in the territory.
When the Euro draw designated the Frankfurt stadium to host the Devils’ first match, many thought about it: will their safety be ensured in the face of this extremely violent gang? “I understand that you are wonderingadmits Sonja, a police officer on patrol around Deutsche Bank Park and its 58,000 seats. But enormous resources have been put in place by the government to manage hooligans.”
Police resources are so great that we cannot take our leave before mid-July.
That’s almost an understatement: since the federal police were created in 1951, this is the largest police deployment ever seen, with 22,000 officers on the job every day. “We can’t take our leave before mid-July when the tournament is oversmiles Sonja. Everyone wants the Euro to go well and that a hundred individuals cannot spoil the party. In Frankfurt, we know that we have violent hooligans but we also deal with them at the local level. We have a team that does nothing but that all year round. There they are at Frankfurt Central Station. You should go see them.”
Just over five kilometers from the stadium, this special section of the Frankfurt police is easily found. The MUG (for “Mobile Unterstützungsgruppe”) is stationed at the main entry point of one of the busiest stations in Germany. Joao is one of the agents, with special equipment. “In the MUG there is a division just for hooligans. There are twelve of us who only take care of that, all year round.”
When he notices on our Euro accreditation that we come from Belgium, Joao grimaces. “I know that hooligans have done a lot of damage to your home in recent months.says the man who was in the British army before joining the Frankfurt police. It is especially the Nassau Brigade group that is dangerous. These are people from the far-right movement. I understand that the Belgians may be afraid to come to Frankfurt but I want to reassure them: we have changed our tactics at national level and there will be no organized hooliganism during the tournament.”
Even if they put on balaclavas, the hooligans always end up taking it off and they are caught with cameras they can’t imagine.
When he talks about tactical change, he refers to the excesses of the hard core of Eintracht in recent years but also to the 2006 World Cup, also in Germany, when English hooligans sadly stood out. “We put a lot more men but we also have a lot more cameras. Cameras with facial recognition. In recent months, we have spent a lot of time analyzing all the images with colleagues. Even if they often put on hoods, they always end up taking it off and they are caught with a camera they cannot imagine.”
To trap them means to file them. Perhaps the worst thing that can happen to a hooligan. “To take the example of the Nassau Brigade, we all know them. We know that they do not come from Frankfurt but from neighboring regions. They will not be able to pass the controls on the outskirts of the city. Neither from Frankfurt, nor elsewhere during the Euro. Tell the Belgians to come to Germany with peace of mind.”
German authorities are praying that Joao is telling the truth. During the tournament, hooliganism is one of the three targeted risks along with computer hacking and Islamic terrorism.
