Stop the selfies! German soccer club rewards fans who avoid their phones during games

Read the original at Toronto Star ↗
Cite

The Associated Press. (2026, October 23). Stop the selfies! German soccer club rewards fans who avoid their phones during games. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/soccer/stop-the-selfies-german-soccer-club-rewards-fans-who-avoid-their-phones-during-games/article_2a5957fb-af90-5585-8a5a-20b1c6934eda.html

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Toronto Star · collected 2026-10-23 · by The Associated Press

Quick Summary

Borussia Dortmund is rewarding fans who avoid using their phones during games by offering signed jerseys and gift cards through an app that measures phone usage. The initiative aims to reduce distractions such as selfies, streaming, and social media in the stands. Fans can opt into a "fan mode" feature within the club’s app starting this Saturday for a home game against Eintracht Frankfurt. Dortmund CEO Carsten Cramer emphasized the importance of experiencing live matches without digital interruptions, highlighting the unique atmosphere created by fans singing and cheering together.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-23, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Borussia Dortmund, a prominent German soccer club, announced plans to reward fans who avoid using their smartphones during games. Starting with a home match against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, the initiative aims to address increasing annoyance among supporters due to excessive selfie-taking and social media use in the stands. Fans can volunteer to use a "fan mode" feature within the club's app, which tracks how frequently they unlock their phones during games and awards points based on minimal usage. Those who accumulate the most points will receive prizes such as signed jerseys and gift cards for club merchandise. Dortmund CEO Carsten Cramer emphasized that experiencing matches live is irreplaceable, with over 81,000 people in attendance singing and cheering together. The program is voluntary, without a ban on phone use during games.

Written for “German Soccer Club Encourages No Phone Use” on 2026-10-23, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 German Soccer Club Encourages No Phone Use
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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Claims extracted
11
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
9%
1 of 11 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-23 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Running correction rate · 25 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

The Associated Press
1461 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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2026-10-23 · assertive framing · Stop the selfies! German soccer club rewards fans who avoid their phones during games
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Wire or desk byline, not an individual reporter.
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
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Topics

Borussia Dortmund DORTMUND Eintracht Frankfurt German Germany

Subjects

DORTMUND GPE · 5× German NORP · 3× Borussia Dortmund ORG · 1× Carsten Cramer PERSON · 1× Dynamo Dresden ORG · 1× Eintracht Frankfurt ORG · 1× Germany GPE · 1× Hertha Berlin ORG · 1×

Narrative

Arguing that “more and more fans are annoyed by selfies, streaming, and social media in the stands,” Dortmund says supporters can volunteer to use a “fan mode” in the club’s app, starting Saturday with a home game against Eintracht Frankfurt.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-23
🔮 A stadium selfie could soon cost fans of German soccer giant Borussia Dortmund after the club announced plans to reward those who leave their phones alone during the game.
2026-10-23 · Toronto Star
Stop the selfies! German soccer club rewards fans who avoid their phones during games · assertive framing

Claims (11 extracted, 1 hedged)

A stadium selfie could soon cost fans of German soccer giant Borussia Dortmund after the club announced plans to reward those who leave their phones alone during the game. uncertain
who → cost → game
Dortmund is offering signed jerseys and gift cards for club merchandise to fans who use an app which measures how often they unlock their phones at its stadium. asserted
they → offer → stadium
Arguing that “more and more fans are annoyed by selfies, streaming, and social media in the stands,” Dortmund says supporters can volunteer to use a “fan mode” in the club’s app, starting Saturday with a home game against Eintracht Frankfurt. asserted
supporters → argue → Frankfurt
Fan mode will measure how often the phone is unlocked during the game — not counting the halftime break — and award points to people based on how little they use the device, with prizes on offer for those with the most points. asserted
they → measure → points
Each time the phone is unlocked, the user loses points. asserted
user → unlock → points
“Over 81,000 people in the stadium, singing, cheering, and holding their breath together: this here and now is irreplaceable,” Dortmund CEO Carsten Cramer said in a statement Thursday. asserted
Cramer → sing → statement
The rewards scheme and app are voluntary and there’s no ban on fans using their phones. asserted
fans → ’ → phones
German soccer is famed for its vocal fanbase, especially Dortmund’s vast and loud “Yellow Wall” standing section. asserted
soccer → fame → fanbase
The club’s stance is part of a backlash in German soccer against attempts to turn its stadium atmosphere into social media content, especially by influencers using professional camera equipment. asserted
stance → turn → equipment
Second-division club Hertha Berlin said this month it was banning “commercially produced and monetized” video productions from its games, while allowing fans to take photos and videos for personal use. asserted
fans → say → use
Another club, Dynamo Dresden, said in August it would ban commercial filming for social media, saying it wanted to ensure fans felt comfortable at the game and to protect the club’s TV rights deals. ___ asserted
fans → say → deals
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