On the terraces: Bayern boycott, Mainz fans against VAR, Nürnberg fans for 50+1

In a weekly Newsletter, Matt Ford keeps an eye on the action off the pitch in the Bundesliga and German football, explaining what’s going on from fan protests to finances.

This week’s newsletter is not exactly from the terraces but rather from the beach in Sri Lanka. On The Terraces was originally scheduled to return next week but so much happened back in Germany at the weekend that an update was required, even if typed out on a phone on a sun lounger by the Indian Ocean. Sounds horrific, we know. Anyway, we have three evergreen talking points: Mainz fans launching a campaign to scrap VAR, Nürnberg fans expressing their support for 50+1, Kaiserslautern fans demanding paper tickets and Bayern Munich fans announcing a Champions League boycott over ticket prices. Full stories below. Now, if you’ll excuse us, this cocktail’s not going to drink itself …

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Matt Ford's "On the terraces" newsletter will continue to appear every week throughout the 2024/25 Bundesliga season. Last season, the newsletter featured exclusive and in-depth coverage of the Bundesliga's private equity plans and the political intrigues at VfB Stuttgart, among other things. If you like what you see, please consider taking out a paid subscription.