Chocolate coin protest halts Bundesliga game

Foil-wrapped chocolate coins flew onto the field in the Bundesliga on Friday as fans made their unhappiness with an investment deal clear by forcing the action to be briefly stopped in Borussia Monchengladbach's game against Werder Bremen.

Fan groups across Germany have pledged to protest the league's plan to sell a stake of future broadcast revenues to an outside investor. The groups have agreed on a silent protest with no singing and chanting for the first 12 minutes of each game this weekend.

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When the 12 minutes were up, Gladbach's fans went a step further by hurling the chocolate coins in gold foil -- a common holiday gift for children -- onto the field. There was a five-minute stoppage while stadium staff, joined by referee Felix Zwayer, picked up the coins.

There were also protests in the second division. A game between Paderborn and Hansa Rostock was briefly stopped because Rostock fans followed the 12 minutes of silence with a display of flares.

"We are not prepared to stand idly by as German soccer gets sold out," the groups said in a joint statement.

Fans have been protesting with banners at Bundesliga games for months and fear an investor could pressure the league to change how the competition is run and focus more on TV viewers than the fans in the stadiums.

The fan groups say their "biggest weapon" is the way that the Bundesliga's marketing focuses heavily on Germany's packed stadiums and passionate crowds. Past protests played a key role in the league abolishing unpopular Monday evening kickoffs in what was widely seen as a victory over broadcasters.

The protests come after the top two men's soccer divisions voted narrowly to proceed on Monday with negotiations to allow an investment firm to acquire a percentage of future TV and marketing income in exchange for an up-front payment. The league says the share would be a maximum of 8% over 20 years and that there are "several interested parties."

League officials say an investor's influence would be restricted to help with marketing, and that the extra income would allow the Bundesliga to modernize in a changing media market increasingly focused on streaming services.

Xabi Alonso, coach of league leader Bayer Leverkusen, indicated his backing for more investment to keep up with other major European leagues.

"For me, it's very important that we respect the tradition, historically, but we want to develop German soccer," he said. "We have fans from Leverkusen, from Germany, but also in Spain, Argentina and Japan.

"We need to have a perspective to keep the tradition but also a vision to develop. We are fighting in a jungle in soccer, a big competition too with La Liga, with the Premier League, Ligue 1, Calcio (Italian soccer) and we must develop."