Aoba Tanaka 
In a dramatic turn of events, Cadiz fans disrupted their team’s match against Real Betis by throwing plastic ponchos onto the pitch, forcing the referee to prematurely end the game. Real Betis was leading 2-0 with goals from Willian Jose and Pablo Fornals when the unexpected interruption occurred during the third of four additional minutes at Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla.
Cadiz, currently 18th in La Liga and in the relegation zone, has struggled in the ongoing season, securing only two wins out of 24 league matches. The team’s last La Liga victory dates back to September 1, 2023, when they defeated Villarreal 3-1 at home. This campaign has been particularly challenging, marked by a surprising loss to fourth-tier side Arandina in the Copa del Rey.
The discontent among Cadiz supporters reached a boiling point, leading to protests during the match. The team made a coaching change last month, sacking Sergio Gonzalez and appointing Mauricio Pellegrino, the former manager of Southampton.
The incident in Cadiz coincided with protests at two matches in Germany, where fans expressed their dissatisfaction with an investment proposal by the German Football Association. In the Bundesliga 2 clash between Hannover and Hamburg, Hamburg fans delayed the match by chaining six padlocks to the goal and netting at half-time. The padlocks had to be cut off before play could resume, resulting in a 4-3 win for Hannover.
In the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and Freiburg, a different form of protest unfolded, with fans throwing tennis balls and chocolate gold coins onto the pitch behind the goal Dortmund was defending in the first half. The reasons behind the protests in Germany are linked to fans’ concerns about the football authorities’ proposed investment plans.
