FC Copenhagen have become the latest leading club – one that regularly competes in the Champions League – to ban shirt request signs among fans.
- Homemade banners taken to games
- Puts players under pressure
- Ajax among those to have taken action
WHAT HAPPENED? The Danish outfit have taken decisive action after seeing the trend among supporters reach unmanageable levels. There has been a noticeable spike over recent years of supporters – normally those of the younger variety – turning up to games with homemade banners bearing a message to their favorite player. Dutch giants Ajax and Czech outfit Slavia Prague are among those to have banned such signs from entering their grounds. Copenhagen – who claimed the Superliga title again last season – have now followed that lead.
WHAT THEY SAID: The Danish champions have said in a statement on the club’s official website: “From this season, FC Copenhagen does not want signs to be carried with requests for a shirt from the players for the home games in the Park or in our away section, as has been seen introduced in, among others, Ajax and Slavia Prague. The decision stems from the fact that it is not possible for the players or the club to meet the many wishes, and we therefore disappoint a lot of children who come with the hope of getting a jersey.
“The number of signs has increased significantly over recent seasons, and unfortunately we have many children who get a bad experience from carrying a sign. At the same time, the players are put in a difficult situation because they cannot fulfil the wish and are perceived negatively because they have to say no to the many requests. We hope for understanding and understand, of course, that many want a shirt from a player, and it is still allowed for the players to choose to give a shirt to fans, but it will be without the signs.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Many players will continue to toss their jerseys into the crowd at the end of games, but they will not be put under pressure to do by those seeking to land a prestigious memento.
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WHAT NEXT? FC Copenhagen are currently taking part in Champions League qualification for 2023-24, with there two more rounds for them to get through before booking a place in the group stage.
