The derbies between Rögle and Malmö are often the season's most intense matches, both on the ice and in the stands. Before Thursday's meeting at Catena arena, Rögle's supporters had put a lot of resources into a tifo that would frame the encounter against the arch-rival. But when the puck was dropped, none of the planned tifo was seen.
According to the tifo group, the motif consisted of an image where a Rögle player is sitting on top of a Malmö player – taken from a match between the teams in 2016. Under the image was the text "Skalla, sparka, slå, RBK".
However, shortly before the match started, the club management is said to have put a stop to it.
"Over 600 working hours and over 20,000 kronor were spent on a tifo that Rögle's CEO Alen Bibic today at 12 o'clock forbade us to use. It is a serious threat to the stand culture and our freedom of speech. Alen means that the message, which originates from a stand song, can be interpreted as incitement and that it would mean a severe economic blow to the club if the tifo was carried out. This is because sponsors would jump off.", writes Rögle's tifo group in a statement.
During the first period of tonight's SHL match, the home fans marked their frustration by rolling out a banner with the text: "600 hours – 20,000 kr seized by the club director."
The match between Rögle and Malmö is ongoing.
