'Utter madness' - German clubs demand changes to away fan experience

A series of incidents affecting travelling German fans in Europe have agitated Bundesliga clubs, with VfB Stuttgart chairman Alexander Wehrle saying supporters are being "treated like serious criminals."

The club's 4-0 win at Dutch side Go Ahead Eagles in the Europa League on Thursday was marred by police using batons against away fans after they arrived by bus for the game.

"This is utter madness, what is happening. We must not put up with this," Wehrle told reporters after the game.

"If we want to maintain a fan culture in European football, then we also have to ensure that fans who have done nothing wrong are allowed to enter and have a normal football experience."

Eintracht Frankfurt fans were not allowed to buy tickets for their team's Champions League match in Naples and Bayern Munich supporters were recently prevented from entering the French capital individually before a game at Paris Saint-Germain. They had to gather at a toll station.

Bayern chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen described the measures as "harassment" and on Friday, sporting director Christoph Freund told a news conference there had been scenes "you do not want to see" at the midweek Champions League trip to Arsenal in London.

German clubs have already written to UEFA to complain about recent policing decisions and wonder why Bundesliga teams appear to have been singled out, whether it is entry bans, hours-long waits or police violence.

"The fans take time off. They travel. They want to have a football experience. And they are treated like serious criminals," added Wehrle.

Go Ahead Eagles director Jan Willem van Dop defended the security forces. He said that, among other things, buses with fans who had no ticket were sent back.

"Some had tickets, others did not. And the behaviour on the bus was so aggressive that the police eventually intervened," he said.