Overview

• Hertha released a statement and a YouTube film featuring fan voices and officials from mainly Regionalliga clubs to press for abolishing Verbandsstrafen.
• A May membership vote mandated the club to advocate ending sanctions for non‑abusive use of pyrotechnics.
• The club argues the NOFV’s practice of financially penalizing teams for supporter behavior fails to fix issues and can push clubs toward existential risk.
• Hertha criticizes crackdowns on pyrotechnics as well as sanctions on banners and fence flags, saying positive fan culture is ignored or criminalized.
• Carl Zeiss Jena’s recent appeal against an NOFV fine was rejected over allegedly AI‑generated errors, a case the club used to spotlight perceived flaws in the sanction system.