“The stadium is never apolitical.”

On June 24, 2025, the event “Open Flank. Right-wing Extremism in Football” took place as part of the Club 2x11 discussion format. The format was organized in cooperation between the Vienna Libraries, fairplay prevention, the association Wir Frauen im Sport (We Women in Sport), the football magazine ballesterer, and the Documentation Center of Austrian Resistance (DÖW). Around 100 interested individuals took part in the 85th edition of Club 2×11 to critically examine the intersections of football politics, and right-wing extremism.

Moderated by Jakob Rosenberg, former editor-in-chief of ballesterer and currently working at the DÖW, the discussion panel consisted of political scientist Cas Mudde (University of Georgia), an internationally renowned researcher on right-wing extremism and passionate football fan and groundhopper, right-wing extremism researcher Bianca Kämpf (DÖW), and anti-discrimination expert Stefan Belabed (fairplay prevention).

Football as a mirror of social conflicts

At the beginning, moderator Jakob Rosenberg emphasized that football has never been apolitical – even if many players like to claim otherwise. Cas Mudde underscored this with numerous examples. Historically, football has always been a place of political conflict – from gender-specific discrimination in women's football to the instrumentalization of World Cups. Football is part of civil society, in which both democratic and anti-democratic tendencies can manifest themselves. The stadium is an ambivalent space: on the one hand, it is a platform for anti-racist solidarity; on the other, it is a projection screen for racist, sexist, or homophobic narratives – often under the guise of “apoliticality.”

Ultras can have an emancipatory effect here – as in the Gezi Park protests in Turkey – or they can fit into authoritarian structures, as in Serbia.

Right-wing extremism in Austrian football

Bianca Kämpf painted a nuanced picture of the situation in Austria. She emphasized that football itself does not have a structural problem with right-wing extremism, but that there are overlaps between the right-wing extremist scene – especially the neo-Nazi milieu – and parts of the hooligan subculture. This became particularly clear during the Corona protests, where neo-Nazis were deliberately used as violent actors.

A recent trend is the “rejuvenation” of the scene, for example in groups such as “Defend Austria” or “Division Wien.” These groups unite established neo-Nazis with young, often radicalized men (and increasingly women) who are seeking an identity-political and aggressive self-image – often drawing on aesthetics and milieus from the world of football.

fairplay prevention: Prevention as an anchor for civil society

A central part of the discussion was devoted to the work of fairplay prevention, which was established in 2022 as a contact point against misanthropic ideologies in sport. Project staff member Stefan Belabed presented current cases from the monitoring: right-wing extremist tattoos among fans at UEFA EURO 2024, banners with identitarian slogans (“Defend Europe”) and anti-Semitic incidents during fan activities in Austrian stadiums.

Stefan emphasized that the documented cases only reflected a small part of the actual problem. “We only see what is reported – much remains hidden,” said Belabed. Nevertheless, these individual cases are a reason to enter dialogue with clubs, associations, and fan organizations, to take preventive measures, and to create long-term structures that stand for diversity and against extremism.

fairplay prevention did not act with a raised finger but sought dialogue. “It's not about exposing anyone, but about making reality visible,” Belabed emphasized. There are many points of contact: from workshops with youth teams to awareness-raising measures for coaches to cooperate with Bundesliga clubs. Stefan Belabed praised positive developments – such as the appointment of a full-time diversity officer at Rapid Vienna – but emphasized that much remains to be done.

Desire for continuity and anchoring

A central concern that was articulated several times in the discussion was the need to secure projects such as fairplay prevention beyond the planned end of the project in December 2025 and to integrate them more strongly into the structures of organized sports.

Currently, the work is heavily project-based, with limited resources and a lack of institutional support. However, the consensus is that preventing (right-wing) extremism is not a sprint, but a marathon. Without structural anchoring—for example, through mandatory training and continuing education in associations and clubs, integration into extracurricular youth work, or clear rules for dealing with misanthropic incidents—many efforts remain isolated and do not have a lasting effect.

The appeal to politicians, organized sports, and civil society partners was clear: long-term funding, institutional involvement, and political backing are needed to effectively combat right-wing extremist and discriminatory tendencies in football.

The stadium as a “free space”

During the discussion, there were many references to the stadium as a “free space” – a place where social norms appear to be suspended. However, Cas Mudde warned against idealizing this: “Today's football stadium is one of the most repressive spaces we have – organised by UEFA and FIFA. Not only in the stadium itself, but also around it, there is a state of emergency with limited rule of law. And all of this is accepted without debate – because of the spectre of the neo-Nazi hooligan.”

Bianca Kämpf added that right-wing extremist groups deliberately exploit the desire for apolitical spaces for their ideology. Through narratives such as the “left-wing extremist dictatorship of opinion,” they position themselves as defenders of ‘true’ football, targeting “normal” fans who feel alienated by the commercialization and politicization of the sport.

Between repression and educational work

In the concluding discussion with the audience, the role of repression was critically reflected upon. While it was clear that criminal acts must be punished, it was emphasized that bans alone rarely had a long-term effect. What was needed was a broad social approach based on dialogue, education, and structural changes in clubs. Change must come from within fan cultures themselves – through education, debate, and empowerment.

Conclusion

The event impressively demonstrated how deeply right-wing extremism, identity politics, and social conflicts affect the world of football – and how important it is to view football not as an apolitical space, but as a stage for social negotiation.

At the same time, it became clear that the prevention work of initiatives such as fairplay prevention is an indispensable building block in the fight against right-wing extremism. For it to remain effective, it needs long-term perspectives, structural connections, and the courage to view the stadium not as a legal vacuum, but as a democratic resonance chamber.