Behind closed doors (football)

As ghost games Football games are referred to that have to be discharged due to sanctions without an audience.

Based on the "real " ghost games also higher class games with only very low attendances are jokingly referred to as ghost games occasionally.

Principle

In a haunted game only players, coaches, club officials, media representatives, access is granted to the stadium, the stands are empty. One such measure is preceded by a malfunction of the followers of the host club in a previous game usually. The positing of a ghost game has a revenue loss due to the lack of entrance fees result for the home club, and is therefore in addition to the threat of fines or deduction of points a popular and mostly effective pressure fluid to the affected club.

Examples

The first ghost in German professional football game was played on January 26, 2004 in Aachen between Alemannia Aachen and 1 FC Nuremberg. This was arranged as a replay of the 2nd Bundesliga of the DFL, as had been hit by a missile on the head in the first game of the Nuremberg coach Wolfgang Wolf. On 18 December 2011, the second league game of Hansa Rostock Dynamo Dresden took place behind closed doors. This was due to riots in the league match against FC St. Pauli (1:3). Dynamo Dresden was in the same season once again by a ghost game affected: The triggering reason for the game without spectators at FC Ingolstadt on March 11, 2012, there were riots in the second round match of the DFB Cup with Borussia Dortmund on 25 October 2011.

Another ghost in German professional football game was played on 30 August 2008 in the third league match between FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt and the second team of Werder Bremen. This game was by order of the DFB closed to the public because two weeks had previously called anti-Semitic chants in the direction of the Jena Fanblocks the game of Erfurt against FC Carl Zeiss Jena parts of the Erfurt audience.

For riots that existed before the Match against Regensburg, punished the DFB Karlsruher SC in the summer of 2012; he had to deliver without an audience a third home league game against Osnabrück.

In the Regional found last held in September 2009 Ghost Games: 1860 München II had on September 17, 2009 compared to SV Darmstadt 98 as well as playing to empty seats a day later the 1st FC Kaiserslautern II against Bayer 04 Leverkusen II founded the sanctions were with firecrackers on the field of play at the game of 1860 in Weiden, or riots at a guest performance of Kaiserslautern in Mannheim.

In the Austrian Bundesliga games were two spirits because of a space storm of fans of SK Rapid Wien, who led against Austria Vienna to abort the game 22 May 2011, expressed as a punitive measure against Rapid Vienna. The sentence was later reduced by the Permanent Court of Arbitration neutral spirits on a game.

In the 2012/13 Europa League season was imposed for riots in the game against PAOK Thessaloniki on August 23, 2012 against Rapid Vienna as a penalty a game without an audience. This took place on September 20, 2012 against Rosenborg Trondheim held at the Ernst Happel Stadium. PAOK must deliver even three ghosts games that take place due to the departure of the club from the 2013/14 season due to the incidents in the same game. The first of these games was the qualifier for the Champions League on August 27, 2013 against Schalke 04

Countermeasures

As a countermeasure against the resulting loss of revenue by ghost games organized some clubs and / or fan groups donations measures in the form of so-called ghost tickets. For a donation in the amount of the normal admission price of the fan receives a donation receipt in the form of a ticket. However, this does not include any entrance fees. First Team Hansa Rostock tried to reduce the financial loss with such an action. One of the biggest successes of this kind donations Dynamo Dresden scored against FC Ingolstadt 04 at his ghost game 11 March 2012 Here with more than 34 638 tickets spirits were more " seats " sold, as had been in the real stadium. Moreover, had about 7,100 season ticket holders have been entitled to admission to the game, whereby the maximum seating capacity of the stadium of 32 066 people to more than 9,000 places could be exceeded as a result of the spirits sold tickets.