Local council proposal

Clubs should pay for damage caused by fan marches

Until now, the city has had to bear all the costs associated with "high-risk matches".

(Bild: Linzplus)

"Linzplus wants to hold the two Linz soccer clubs, LASK and Blauweiß, accountable: With a parliamentary group motion in the upcoming municipal council, it is campaigning for a German model that would make the clubs financially responsible.

Garbage, long streetcar service breaks, high police costs and violence: fan marches by soccer fans cause enormous expenses and unsettle many people. "Is that really necessary? And does the general public really have to pay for all this while the clubs make a profit from the events? I don't think so," Neo-Linzplus local councillor Brita Piovesan is convinced. She wants to put the issue up for discussion at the next municipal council meeting on March 13 by means of a parliamentary group motion.

No longer a burden for the general public
"The clubs should bear the costs themselves - not the people of Linz. Following the German model, the soccer clubs themselves should be responsible for the costs of fan marches and police operations so that the general public is no longer burdened," says Piovesan.

In Germany, the polluter-pays principle has therefore applied since January 14, 2025: soccer clubs and economic beneficiaries of such events must bear the costs incurred themselves.

Three motions for resolutions
However, as this project cannot be implemented with a single measure, affects several areas of responsibility and also goes beyond the city's competencies (e.g. federal government, police, Linz AG), Linzplus has formulated three resolution proposals. These are initially directed at the Ministry of the Interior in order to create the legal basis (inspired by German models) for a fairer distribution of costs for police operations in connection with soccer matches. Furthermore, the city councillor responsible for cleaning the city will be asked to ensure a speedy and thorough clean-up after fan marches. In addition, the city councillor for security is asked to work with the police to increase the public's sense of security.

"The mayor has a duty"
Piovesan: "In addition, it requires the joint efforts of many stakeholders to protect the city and the general public from harm as much as possible. For example, it would make sense to avoid streetcar service interruptions due to fan marches on the highway by finding alternative routes for the marches. In this context, we also ask the Mayor of Linz to personally address this issue and promote effective cooperation in order to find solutions that cannot be achieved with individual municipal council motions and resolutions alone."