Right seat — Faultline

A clear message from the fans of VfL Halle: Nazis are not only unwelcome in the block, but also in the goal

»We didn't damage any fences or anything else. We didn't sneak in either." Daniel firmly contradicts the accusations made by the VfL Halle 1896 football club. According to the club management, dozens of VfL fans entered the stadium grounds without permission during a protest and caused property damage in the process. Daniel, who does not want his last name printed, is one of those fans who criticize the club. The subject of this criticism is the new goalkeeper.

24-year-old Franz Lohse has been playing for VfL Halle since this season. Because he is said to have connections to the extreme right-wing scene, the club's predominantly left-wing fans are protesting. “A Nazi in a jersey is still a Nazi,” read one of the banners in the stadium. In an interview with Jungle World, Daniel names “two problem areas”: “There is the personality of Franz Lohse himself and then the way the club deals with it and the criticism of it.”

In a post, Lohse mourns fallen Wehrmacht soldiers: "They died so that Germany lives!"

The criticism comes primarily from the 50-person group Barra Brawu, which is considered to be a particularly active fan scene. Daniel, who was the club's fan representative from 2015 to 2023, is also a member. »The club was initially surprised and frightened by our criticism. If Lohse is still in the scene, he'll be thrown out, that was the club's credo at the beginning. But suddenly that changed, says Daniel.

When a rumor arose in July that the goalkeeper would be moving to VfL Halle 96 in the new season, fans became aware. The research portal “Saxony-Anhalt right-wing extremist” counted Lohse as part of the right-wing football fan scene in 2024. Photos that he published himself show him next to a member of the Identitarian Movement. He trained in the martial arts studio “La Familia Fightclub,” which is known for its right-wing clientele. On Instagram he recommended reading “Eternal Germany: A German House Book,” a National Socialist propaganda book series for which Joseph Goebbels wrote the forewords. Lohse noted: "#Readingeducates, educates yourself, educates others, forms gangs...!" In a post he mourns fallen Wehrmacht soldiers: "They died so that Germany lives!"

Also documented is a visit to a celebration with the neo-Nazi concert organizer Enrico Marx, who is also an official of the Young Nationalists, the youth organization of the “Homeland” party, the former NPD. In one photo, Lohse himself is wearing a T-shirt with the inscription “Division Sachsen-Anhalt” – a label popular with neo-Nazis. Further photos put him in context with the scene. According to Daniel, one is said to be from April 20, 2026, where there is a man standing next to the goalkeeper with a shirt with an inscription advertising Björn Höcke.

Lohse could not be reached for Jungle World. In response to a query from Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, he referred to an interview he gave to the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung at the end of August. In it he claims to have read the above-mentioned Nazi propaganda books out of historical interest. And in the post about the Wehrmacht he wanted to draw attention to the fact that one of his great-grandfathers died in the Second World War. He came to Enrico Marx's party by chance. He describes himself as “apolitical.”

To the critical fans, the club dismissed the accusations as youthful sins and "old jokes," says Daniel: "It's a purely sporting matter, so we should keep the ball flat, that's what they said." Lohse was not criminally charged, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution knew nothing about the goalkeeper; As long as he wasn't accused of anything criminally relevant, they didn't want to react, the club told the critical fans with whom it was initially in discussions.

The club management later accused them of behavior that was detrimental to the club, says Daniel. He insists: “If these are all youthful sins anyway, then Lohse has to make it credible. He now says the photo from April 20th is from earlier. But he's not that old yet. If his attitude was so clearly documented two years ago, how did the alleged change take place?"

"With what Franz Lohse is accused of, he would have been kicked out of any volunteer fire department five years ago." Daniel, fan of VfL Halle 96

According to Daniel, the club removed critical comments from social media channels. On the other hand, he received positive feedback from fans of other clubs known for their right-wing fan scenes, such as Hallescher FC and Lok Leipzig. “They wanted to keep the conflict down in public,” says Daniel. In a statement, the club said: "We do not judge people based on which political direction they belong to or what personal beliefs they ascribe to." And: "The signing of a player is a sporting decision by the club. It is not a political statement. Personal political views – if they are known and clearly identifiable – are not a criterion for whether someone is allowed to play football for VfL Halle 96.«

The fans interpret such false political neutrality as anticipatory obedience against the background of the AfD's looming victory in the state elections. “We are not interested in political views: that is the fatal signal that is being sent,” says Daniel. »You can see in Lohse the shift in tone over the past few years. With what he is accused of, he would have been kicked out of any volunteer fire department five years ago.

At the first league home game on August 9th, 50 fans used alternative entrances to get into the stadium and express their protest with banners; They left before the game against Auerbach kicked off. “We wanted to make it clear what the club would lose if we stopped coming,” says Daniel. Some of these people have been involved with the association for 30 years and have financed it during the Covid-19 pandemic. "We have offered the club to use crowdfunding to finance an additional goalkeeper's salary if there is a risk of a contractual penalty if Lohse is kicked out of the team." The club did not accept this. During the protest he called in the police.

The fans of VfL Halle 96 are sticking to the boycott for the time being. “If the committed people stay away, there will be a vacuum that the right-wing will fill,” Daniel worries. Many members of Barra Brawu will no longer be seen in the stadium for the time being. The police are investigating "including trespassing and property damage against several currently unknown suspects," the Halle police said at Jungle World's request.