After Newcastle United’s humiliating 2-0 loss to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, the German team’s renowned supporters had a striking message for UEFA.
After suffering their second straight defeat in Europe, the Magpies are at bottom of the Group of Death. Niclas Fullkrug and Julian Brandt, two German players, scored the winning goals that condemned Eddie Howe’s team. While AC Milan defeated Paris Saint-Germain in the other group match, Newcastle has lost both of its matches against Dortmund.
The legendary Yellow Wall’s banner, which was unveiled specifically for UEFA, demonstrated the difference between North Rhine-Westphalia’s and English fan cultures and was just as impactful as BVB’s exhibition.
“You don’t care about the sport – All you care about is money!” perused the banner that spanned the stands during the match. Fans of Die Schwarzgelben demonstrated their unhappiness of the Champions League reforms that are scheduled to take over the competition next season by scattering debris onto the pitch, including tennis balls and pieces of card shaped like gold bars.
With a group stage modelled after Switzerland, UEFA plans to redesign the Champions League for the upcoming season. This will include more matches between competing teams and more spots being given out in the tournament’s first phase.
Larger leagues throughout the continent will probably be given the extra spots in Europe’s top tournament in order to appease those who might be considering forming a breakaway league.
Banners with strong sentiments are nothing new to German football supporters. This isn’t the first time a Bundesliga team has targeted an opponent in the Premier League this season.
Bayern Munich supporters carried a banner that said, “Glazers, Sheikh Mansour, all autocrats out!” to Manchester City during the previous season’s Champions League. The people own the game of football.”
The name of Sheikh Mansour was chanted by a sizable portion of Manchester City supporters in response to the banner.