German football authorities will be keeping a close eye on the behavior of fans up and down the country next weekend in the wake of hateful chanting against Hoffenheim owner Dietmar Hopp.
Hopp, the founder of European software giant SAP, has funded Hoffenheim's remarkable rise from obscurity to the Bundesliga but along the way has attracted the ire of some rival supporters.
He was subjected to tasteless abuse from Borussia Dortmund fans during his side's 4-1 victory on Sunday, and it is not the first time the multi-millionaire has been targeted.
The German Football Association (DFB) has now decided to intervene and confirmed they will be monitoring the situation closely in future.
"It is not enough that we ask for stadium visitors to show fairness to Dietmar Hopp. Things do not change," explained Anton Nachreiner, chairman of the DFB's disciplinary committee.
"Particularly since the banners held up by Dortmund fans showed that these insults and threats are getting nastier.
"The State Prosecutors are dealing with the incidents at the weekend, and that is enough for this matter, as far as we are concerned.
"However, in future the DFB will work actively to protect Dietmar Hopp and act ruthlessly to any massive insults or threats against him."
Dortmund have already launched their own investigation into the weekend's incidents and are likely to hand out lifetime stadium bans to those found guilty of insulting the 68-year-old.
The DFB's willingness to clamp down on the abuse will be welcomed by Hopp, who earlier Tuesday admitted he was growing increasingly concerned.
The weekend abuse against Dortmund echoed scenes during Hoffenheim's game with Borussia Monchengladbach last month, when a section of 'Gladbach fans chanted obscenities.
"They have now overstepped the mark - there were calls for murder," Hopp alleged. "This is no silly little boy's joke anymore."
He added to the Mannheimer Morgen newspaper: "We need to do something decisive against it, otherwise it will start to take on momentum and become normality."
Dortmund general manager Hans-Joachim Watzke apologized for the actions of his club's fans, calling the incident "embarrassing, shameful and unworthy".
Hopp further revealed that Dortmund president Reinhard Rauball left the stadium in Mannheim 15 minutes early "because he was so embarrassed" by the behavior of some Dortmund fans.
