In percentage terms, the number of incidents in amateur football is stable, but the intensity of the violence appears to be increasing. This is the result of an evaluation by the German Football Association. “More high-escalated conflicts” led to a significant increase in abandoned games in preseason.
More game abandonments and increasingly violent conflicts: Since the break in play due to the corona, amateur football has apparently been more aggressive. This is shown by statistics from the German Football Association (DFB), which registered a significant increase in unfinished games in the past season. In the 2021/22 season, the referees had to stop 911 amateur games, the DFB said. There have never been so many in one season.
The drop-out rate, which has remained stable over the past few years, increased from 0.05 to 0.075 percent. Converted, this means: On average, every 1339th game was canceled in the past season. “There are obviously more highly escalated conflicts than before Corona,” said criminologist Thaya Vester, who researches violent incidents in amateur football, in a media panel convened by the DFB.
In more than a third of all game abandonments, conflicts are triggered by allegations of partiality or alleged wrong decisions by the referees. This is followed by terminations after escalated differences of opinion about whether a duel was only fought hard or whether there was a gross foul. External influences, such as spectators, are less important, the criminologist explained.
“A game abandonment must always be the ultima ratio. But if the referee is attacked, there is no question that it will be abandoned,” Vester clarified. This was the case for about half of all game abandonments. But a referee’s decision does not always lead to a demolition. In 15 percent of all cases, games had to be abandoned after a team refused to continue play, Vester said.
In the past season, more than 1.2 million matches in amateur football were recorded using online match report sheets and evaluated by the DFB. Referees reported 5,582 incidents, of which 3,544 were acts of violence, such as assault or threats, and 2,389 were discrimination. This includes statements that violate the dignity of the person concerned, inhuman gestures and discriminatory actions. All in all, referees recorded so-called disruptions in around 0.5 percent of all games – hardly any change compared to previous situation reports in the amateur area, which the DFB has had since the 2014/15 season.
But why is it canceled more often? “The qualitative increase in violence shows that conflicts are becoming more violent and unrestrained,” said Gunter A. Pilz. The fan and violence researcher observes a declining frustration tolerance in society as a whole due to a variety of crises. Football is “not just a reflection of society, but a burning glass for social problems,” emphasized the sociologist. “We know that social conflicts take place on the pitch.” What is happening on the football field is often the trigger for violence, but not always the cause.
