LAFC have enjoyed an encouraging start to 2026.
The west coast club spearheaded by Son Heung-min and Denis Bouanga opened the new MLS campaign with a thumping victory over Lionel Messi’s defending champions, Inter Miami. The waning league form in recent weeks has been offset by a run to the semifinals of the Concacaf Champions Cup, a competition LAFC are desperate to win after losing two previous finals.
However, the same success has not been had by the MLS side’s sister side, Grasshopper Club Zürich.
The fallen giants of Swiss soccer are facing the alarming prospect of relegation for a third season in succession, accelerating a steep downward trend since LAFC acquired a majority stake in the club back in January 2024. The fans have lost their patience.
Most ultras refused to take their seats for the opening minutes of Grasshoppers’ league meeting with FC Luzern on Saturday, leaving two banners hanging poignantly below the barren stands. The first read: “We just don’t feel like it right now.” The second, with 6' white letters emblazoned on a black sheet, was more to the point: “F--- OFF LAFC!”
The Decline of LAFC’s Sister Club
Grasshoppers are the most successful club in Swiss top-flight history, amassing an unrivaled 27 league titles. However, their last success came back in 2003. The club have recorded more seasons in the Swiss second tier (two) than title triumphs (one) in the 21st century.
This steady decline started long before LAFC’s investment 15 months ago. The financial issues which have beset this historic institution stretch back to 2007, when their Hardturm ground was closed for a rebuild which never materialized. Now Grasshoppers are forced to share the modest the Letzigrund track and field stadium with their fierce city rivals FC Zürich. The only atmosphere which has been inspired behind the running track is one of extreme anger.
The nadir came in 2019 when the Hoppers were relegated for the first time in 68 years, ending the campaign with two abandoned matches after fan violence.
The following season, Grasshoppers were purchased by Hong Kong-based Champion Union. The Chinese company is owned by Jenny Wang, who is married to the head of Fosun International, which in turn has a majority stake in Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Fosun oversaw Grasshoppers’ return to the top flight in 2021 although another relegation was never too far away.
During the season in which the ownership changed hands, Grasshoppers were condemned to a relegation playoff to preserve their top-flight status. It took a stoppage-time winner to avoid the drop in 2024 before history repeated itself 12 months later, with Grasshoppers again winning this desperate fixture after escaping automatic relegation by goal difference alone.
With just four games of the current campaign remaining, LAFC’s sister club are hurtling towards this same dire fate once more.
Why Anger Has Peaked Now
Grasshoppers never established the dominance the league standings would suggest, falling to a limp 2–0 defeat last Saturday which enraged their support. The traveling fans tried to storm the pitch, tossed flares at match stewards and lit firecrackers under the team coach.
That anger had given way to apathy by the time Grasshoppers lined up against Luzern this weekend. If the distinct lack of fans didn’t get the point across, the banner beneath spelled it out explicitly: “We just don’t feel like it right now.”
LAFC’s fault in this downfall—in the eyes of the fans, at least—lies in a culture of constant change. The new ownership swiftly appointed a new club president in the form of LAFC chief operating and chief financial officer Stacy Johns, who has overseen a revolving door in the managerial dugout.
“Since the ownership change to LAFC in January 2024, half a dozen coaches, several sporting directors, and various staff members at the front office have been replaced,” a statement from the club’s ultras read this week.
“The promises made at the time of the takeover have never even come close to being kept. The LAFC structure, with its partner clubs, has clearly failed. We’re not going to stand by and watch any longer; it’s time for LAFC to make way for new investors from Switzerland.”
It remains to be seen whether LAFC listen to this advice.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Explaining the Explicit Protest Against LAFC by Fans of Fallen European Giants.
