Outrage over knife poster in Cologne stadium

A fan choreography at 1. FC Köln has caused massive criticism from politicians. "We fight knife violence on the streets every day and in the stadium such an image is provoked," said North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) to the "Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger".

Before the Rhine derby against Fortuna Düsseldorf (1:1) on Sunday, a huge banner put up by FC fans in the Cologne stadium showed a man with the FC logo on his tie holding a large knife to the throat of Fortuna, the goddess of luck. The words "Luck is not a gift from the gods" were written on the banner - accompanied by malicious laughter over the loudspeakers. The club had approved this action by the fans in advance and later justified itself.

Reul, on the other hand, was appalled: "I expect those responsible at the club to take action. Instead, the matter is being played down. This is the next scandal."

Cologne's mayor Henriette Reker was the victim of a knife attack in 2015 and also criticized the choreography. "The mayor and the city of Cologne noted the banner motif and the statements made by the management of 1. FC Cologne with some astonishment," the city said in a statement. "Anyone who approves of such a motif shows their ignorance of our current social situation."

Cologne's sports director Christian Keller had already been confronted with criticism of the fan action from many spectators after the game. "You can argue about the motive. For me it is simply the rivalry between two active fan scenes," he said. That is normal in this culture. Whether the average consumer likes it is "something else."

Despite the knife, the club had "not seen any call to violence" during its preliminary investigation, said Keller. "We could live with the motive, but we didn't find it pleasant," said the 46-year-old.