Overview
- Supporters staged coordinated actions at Regionalliga Nordost season openers, with all 18 clubs pausing play for two to three minutes and at least 47 ultra groups publishing a joint ultimatum.
- Fans say a compromise on the Kompassmodell was altered just before the club vote so that eight promotion start places were removed, a change they call a scandal that robbed clubs of promotion chances.
- The dispute pits proponents of the Kompassmodell, an algorithm that groups teams by travel distance into four leagues, against regional bosses who backed other options such as a Regionenmodell or expanding the 3. Liga.
- Protests so far have been non-violent and symbolic, including banners and small trophies thrown onto pitches, but ultra groups have announced multi-week nationwide actions and warned those could spread into the DFB-Pokal, 2. Liga and Bundesliga.
- The change would directly affect lower-division clubs' finances and player careers because fewer promotion places mean lost revenue and stalled progression, so the next key developments to watch are any formal DFB decisions or resignations from regional leaders.