Borussia Dortmund fans throw tennis balls and chocolate coins on field in protest against German FA proposals during Freiburg win

The Dortmund fans' protests in the 37th minute delayed the match by 10 minutes before a double from Donyell Malen and Niclas Fullkrug sealed a 3-0 victory on Friday night. This supporter discontent stems from when German teams voted to approve a proposal to sell some Bundesliga TV rights in exchange for investment capital in December.

German fans are strongly opposed to any outside commercial influence on the Bundesliga and have been protesting in various ways since the December majority vote, where 26 of the 36 teams in the men's first and second divisions came out in favour of the proposal. Bochum fans threw balls onto the pitch during a 3-0 win over Union Berlin in December, Hamburg supporters chained six padlocks to the goal in their 4-3 victory over Hannover on Friday, and there was a 12-minute stoppage in Heidenheim's 1-1 draw with Wolfsburg in January due to protests.

The 'strategic marketing partnership' would reportedly involve selling an 8% share of revenues over 20 years to an investment firm. The proponents of the deal argued this would allow the league to be marketed more to foreign audiences and focus on streaming services, too.

At the end of last year, Bundesliga co-chief executive Marc Lenz said the league would start talks with possible partners and would aim for a decision by late March. Meanwhile, protests are likely to continue from fans in opposition to these proposals.