Scots can take leaf out of the German book
IN Scottish football, it’s a privilege afforded only to t he so - c al le d prawn sandwich brigade. In Germany, however, you don’t have to look far to find a far mor e enlightened relationship between alcohol and a vibrant soccer nation.
Two months ago, Pep Guardiola, wife Cristina and some of his Bayern Munich stars like Thomas Muller were to be found necking beer steins and mingling with well-wishers on the club’s annual trip to the city’s world-renowned Oktoberfest.
Over at Borussia Dortmund earlier this month, Marco Reus, Mats Hummels and Co attempted to repay fans for their continued support during a difficult season by going behind the bar and serving them beers before signing autographs at their traditional Christmas party.
Germany embraces fan zones and beer tents outside grounds, but alcohol is also served readily and sensibly to fans within the nation’s stadiums.
As their FA chief Helmut Sandrock told an SFA conference at Hampden last week, drink has acted as a lubricant for the cogs of the mighty Bundesliga machine to produce the most fan-friendly league on the planet.
The sale of alcohol, alongside safe standing and cheap tickets, has formed a three-pronged blueprint for success. The spectacular result of which has been packed stadiums, an unrivalled fan experience, and money being ploughed back into a youth system that bore fruit when the national team won the 2014 World Cup.
Back in gloomy old Scotland, meanwhile, fans are only trusted to have a drink at football grounds if they are in hospitality.
It’s a situation that’s been highlighted by the Scottish Daily
Mail in our ‘ End the Drink Ban’ campaign, which gained high-level support yesterday when Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson tabled a motion urging the Scottish Government to introduce alcohol at stadia in a pilot scheme.
Our bid to banish draconian legislation introduced 35 years ago gained even further momentum when 11 MSPs signed Davidson’s motion.
The fact that Scots football fans are treated differently from their counterparts across Europe remains baffling to Andreas Hinkel, the former Celtic and Germany defender.
He can still recall friends and f amily coming to Scotland and feeling as if they’d been transported back to the prohibition era.
‘When they came over to see me play for Celtic it was very strange for them not to be able to enjoy a beer at the game,’ said Hinkel, who is now youth team coach at Stuttgart. ‘They couldn’t understand why fans weren’t treated like grown-ups and allowed to have even a single beer.
‘In Germany, you can’t just get a beer at matches in the Bundesliga. You and your friends can order 10 if you wish. It’s part of the culture. You can sit in the stand and order beers. They have the kind of guys you see working at American football matches selling hot dogs, but it’s for beer. It works very well.’
Ending the ban in Scotland would bring our fans into line with their counterparts in England, who can drink in stadiums but not while watching the game.
In Germany, research suggests a tiny minority of fans drink too much but not on a problem scale. A ban is put in place as a preventative measure for matches deemed a risk.
Hinkel believes Scottish football fans would respond well to being treated like grown-ups.
‘They should try letting Scottish fans have alcohol in grounds. I would definitely support it,’ said the former Stuttgart and Sevilla defender.
‘There’s not a lot of trouble at German stadiums. Any trouble outside is usually down to the people involved, not the alcohol.
‘When I was playing in Spain, fans could drink at matches there as well and there was never any trouble. It just added to the atmosphere and the experience for supporters.
‘I’m a believer that every country can learn from each other and this is something maybe Scottish football can take from German football.’