Spectacular protest! Bayern and VfB fans take the DFB to task

FC Bayern München v VfB Stuttgart - DFB Cup Final 2026

Fans of Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart made a bold statement at Saturday evening's DFB Cup final with coordinated, vocal protests against the DFB.

At the start of the second half, VfB Stuttgart fans unfurled a massive banner bearing a crossed-out DFB logo and passed it along the stands. The 15-metre-wide banner was eventually carried all the way to the Bayern section on the opposite side of Berlin's Olympic Stadium.

Moments later, stadium stewards removed the club crest from the main stand and carried it into the underground passageways. The slogan "Plaintiff, Judge, Executioner" remained visible beneath the emblem.

Both sets of supporters also unfurled several banners: "Great rivals unite: F**k you, DFB" in the Bayern stand and "We fight against everything you stand for" among the Stuttgart fans, directed at the German Football Association.

For several minutes, fans in the stands chorused, "F**k the DFB," and at times Bayern and VfB supporters even traded call-and-response chants, uniting against the common target.

FBL-GER-CUP-BAYERN MUNICH-STUTTGART

Exorbitant ticket prices for the DFB Cup final have sparked protests from Bayern and VfB fans.

The protests were sparked by the DFB's exorbitant ticket prices for the cup final in the capital. "At €45 (fan category), €80 (category 3), €150 (category 2) and €195 (category 1), the DFB is once again charging exorbitant prices for tickets to the cup final. Given the stadium layout, a disproportionately large section has been allocated to the pricier Category 1 and 2 seats," stated Club No. 12, the association representing FC Bayern's active fan base, in a pre-match announcement.

In the cheapest category, where tickets cost €45, the group claims that too few tickets were allocated. "Whilst the DFB usually offers discounts for schoolchildren, students and others at almost every other event, it wants to make as much money as possible from the cup final, which has been styled as a prestige event, and is forgetting any sense of social responsibility," Club No. 12 continued.

Immediately after the protest, supporters of both clubs set off pyrotechnics in their stands, forcing a brief interruption to the match after around 60 minutes due to poor visibility.

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