A very unusual way to fight against pyrotechnics comes from Hamburg. To punish fans for lighting flares and smoke bombs police banned alcohol sales throughout the stand.

In late October FC Sankt Pauli managed to beat SC Freiburg 1:0, but it’s not the score that’s really interesting. Not even the sold out, packed stadium (29,546 people, including 3,000 from Freiburg). It’s simply this pyro-show seen below:

Of course pyrotechnics are illegal in Germany and thus a reaction from the police was to be expected. It came on Wednesday, when officers requested ahead of the Fortuna Dusseldorf game (Monday, Nov 9) for special sanctions against fans.

Usually across Europe this would mean a fine for the club or closing parts of the stadium, but in this case the police’s notion was different. Due to violations fans in the south stand of Millerntor will not be able to drink alcohol during the Fortuna game.

Could this be a way to tackle illegal pyrotechnic displays? While we’re sure fans would have enjoyed a pint or two and some will be disappointed for being punished collectively, it’s doubtful this kind of sanction would discourage fans from further shows. A creative response from Sankt Pauli supporters now, perhaps?