German Football Association issues sanctions to Saarbrücken and Kaiserslautern

The German Football Association (DFB) has issued separate disciplinary rulings involving 1. FC Saarbrücken and 1. FC Kaiserslautern.

1. FC Saarbrücken captain Florian Pick was fined 1,000 euros by the DFB sports court following an interview in which he indirectly accused referee Maximilian Lotz of match-fixing after a loss to Havelse. The club has announced it will cover the fine for Pick, with sports director Markus Thiele stating that while Pick exceeded verbal boundaries, the club supports its player during emotional moments and calls for more self-reflection from the association and referees.

Separately, the DFB sports court imposed a total fine of 300,000 euros on 1. FC Kaiserslautern following incidents during a DFB-Pokal match against Waldhof Mannheim in August. Of this amount, the club can allocate 120,000 euros toward security and violence prevention measures. A partial spectator ban was also issued, though it has been suspended on probation until March 31, 2028. DFB Vice President Thomas Bergmann noted that Kaiserslautern acted professionally by distancing itself from fan misconduct and implementing new measures, such as a whistleblower portal, to prevent future incidents.