Yellow Wall turns red: Dortmund fans blast arms deal

Borussia Dortmund fans have announced plans to begin the 2024/25 Bundesliga season with a protest. Club officials revealed back in May that they were entering a partnership with arms manufacturer Rheinmetall. This came at a time when Dortmund was set to face Real Madrid in the Champions League final. It is safe to say that the decision has not gone down well with fans.

Founded in 1889, the company specializes in producing armored fighting vehicles. Tanks built by Rheinmetall were previously used by Germany in both World Wars. In recent years, arms produced by the company were used in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Partially due to the conflict in Ukraine, Rheinmetall is reportedly expecting to make around $11 billion in sales this year alone. Headquartered in Düsseldorf, about an hour outside of Dortmund, the company recently revealed plans to build a new factory in northern Germany. This plant will produce 200,000 artillery shells, nearly 2,000 tons of explosives, and possibly even warheads.

Official Dortmund supporter groups join forces against arms manufacturer deal

Dortmund residents typically pride themselves on being working-class, anti-establishment community members. Because of this, a majority of the club’s fans have strong feelings about the aforementioned partnership. Major supporter groups quickly denounced Dortmund’s three-year marketing deal with Rheinmetall.

Dortmund chairman, Hans-Joachim Watzke, has since defended the partnership with the arms manufacturer. As a result, the supporter association Südtribüne Dortmund issued a joint statement regarding the situation on Wednesday. The group, which also spoke on behalf of dozens of other official fan associations, claims that they were not informed of the partnership before it was announced.

“We firmly reject the idea that those responsible at BVB and all its committees have agreed to use Borussia Dortmund’s appeal to improve the public image of an arms company and throw their own values ​​overboard in the process,” read the statement. “We will not do those responsible the favor of letting the matter rest – as the timing of the publication may have suggested. That should be clear to everyone involved.”

Elaborate protests could affect Dortmund-Eintracht match

Südtribüne Dortmund then announced that they were organizing a protest for the team’s upcoming game against Eintracht Frankfurt. The two German sides will kick off their 2024/25 league campaign on Saturday, August 24th. Here in the United States, fans can stream the matchup on ESPN+ beginning at 12:30ET.

“With a view to the start of the season against Eintracht Frankfurt, we are therefore calling on every single Borussia fan and every fan club to bring their displeasure about the deal with Rheinmetall to the stadium,” continued the fan statement. “Please prepare signs and/or banners with which you can express your criticism at the start of the second half.”

Along with creating banners and signs, part of this planned protest includes a shot at Rheinmetall’s CEO Armin Papperger. Organizers will decorate a tank outside of Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund colors and include a figure dressed as Papperger. Protesters will also hand out flyers. It remains unclear if Dortmund is willing to rupture their partnership to appease the unhappy fans.

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