IThe Frankfurt judiciary always has to deal with football fans who commit crimes in the stadium – as did the Frankfurt district court this Tuesday: A man sits in the dock, whom the public prosecutor’s office accuses of using the symbols of unconstitutional organizations. The thirty-one-year-old is said to have raised his right arm outstretched for twenty seconds each time during a game between Eintracht Frankfurt and the Bulgarian team Levski Sofia, i.e. giving the Hitler salute.
The prosecutors know this so well because the police recorded the crime on video in the Waldstadion in August 2023. In the main hearing, the court now also wants to find out whether the defendant was aware of what exactly he was doing. The judge therefore asks him whether he has ever seen films about the Second World War, such as “Schindler’s List”? The man says no. The Bulgarian, who has lived in Germany for six years, does not deny that he raised his arm. However, he says the sign has no meaning in Bulgaria. “But in Germany that means something,” says the judge.
“Because it’s particularly bad”
A video on his smartphone is supposed to prove that raising the right arm is part of a Bulgarian fan chant. It shows Bulgarian football fans rhythmically extending their right arms upwards in quick movements and then immediately lowering them again. “But your hand is up for a long time,” says the judge. According to a police officer assigned to the visitors’ block and testifying in court, several Bulgarian fans gave the Hitler salute at the game while the song “In the Heart of Europe” by the Frankfurt Police Choir played. He says that many of the away fans clearly found it funny to raise their right arm at that exact moment, including the defendant.
The matter is being heard in the district court because the man had lodged an objection against a penalty order. In the end, the public prosecutor requests a fine of 50 daily rates of 70 euros each, which amounts to 3,500 euros.
In his last word, the defendant is surprised: That is twice what was imposed on him in the penalty order. The judge explains to him: This is because his salary was not yet known at the time and had to be estimated. “That’s a lot of money,” he says. “Yes, because it is particularly bad,” says the judge. “If you give the Hitler salute in Germany, it’s very, very, very, very bad.”
She ultimately sentenced him to a fine of 50 daily rates of 70 euros each, as requested by the public prosecutor. The gesture, says the judge, was a clear reaction to the song of unity. The verdict is not yet legally binding.
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