Battle for the Grünwalder Stadion: Bayern fans step up their game against 1860 | OneFootball

The dispute over the Grünwalder Stadion is entering the next round – and this time it was visible in the stadium itself. At the catch-up match between FC Bayern’s second team and SpVgg Unterhaching (1:0), Munich supporters hoisted a large banner with the likeness of Hermann Gerland. A clear message: the Reds are also laying claim to the traditional venue in Giesing

The banner is to be seen as a direct response to the ongoing fan dispute between FC Bayern and TSV 1860. The background to this is the political initiative of Munich’s Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD), who is campaigning for a leasehold solution in favour of the Lions in the course of the upcoming local elections. 1860 is to take over and modernize the Grünwalder Stadion. According to information from those involved in the negotiations, Bayern II would not remain as a tenant in this scenario, however

„Our HKG – Our city!“

photo: IMAGO

Bayern fans had already protested with banners at the 3-2 win over Eintracht Frankfurt last Bundesliga weekend: „Unsere HKG – Unsere Stadt! Macht den Reiter-TSV-Deal platt!“ (Our HKG – Our City! Kill the Reiter-TSV deal!) could be read in the Allianz Arena. By „HKG“, the supporters meant the „Hermann-Gerland-Kampfbahn“, as the Grünwalder Stadion is known in fan circles

The Lions responded promptly. 1860 fans in the West Curve at the home game against Hansa Rostock countered with the words: „No matter whether it’s three stadiums on the outskirts of the city or a stadium with an invented name – you’ll never have a home with an identity!“ They were presumably referring to the Allianz Arena, the sports park in Unterhaching recently acquired by FC Bayern and the stadium on the campus

The Gerland banner was the next retort from the Reds – the conflict is increasingly shifting from politics to the stands

Reiter between election campaign and supervisory board

The personnel issue of Dieter Reiter is particularly explosive. The Lord Mayor wants to resolve the Grünwalder issue this year – expressly in cooperation with 1860. At the same time, he recently joined the supervisory board of FC Bayern. Should Bayern II actually have to move out, Reiter would be caught between the fronts of two Munich soccer worlds

The fans of SpVgg Unterhaching also had their say, with a banner criticizing the sale of the Sportpark to FC Bayern: „And when FC Bayern has bought the last club, you will realize what you have destroyed.“

Bayern took over the venue at the turn of the year, and in future the record champions‘ women’s team will play there alongside Unterhaching, including in the Champions League

One thing is clear: the stadium issue has long been more than just an infrastructure issue. It has become a symbol – of identity, tradition and power relations in Munich soccer. And there is currently no end in sight to the dispute.