Why Fans of Fallen European Giants Are Launching a Bold Protest Against LAFC

LAFC have made a promising start to 2026.

The Los Angeles outfit, led by Son Heung-min and Denis Bouanga, kicked off the new MLS season with a commanding win over Lionel Messi's title-holders, Inter Miami. A dip in league form over recent weeks has been cushioned by a deep run in the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals — a tournament LAFC are eager to claim after falling short in two previous finals.

Yet the same fortunes have not extended to the MLS club's affiliated side, Grasshopper Club Zürich.

The once-storied Swiss football institution faces the troubling possibility of a third consecutive relegation, deepening a sharp decline since LAFC took a majority ownership stake in January 2024. Supporters have run out of patience.

Most ultras boycotted their seats during the opening minutes of Grasshoppers' league clash with FC Luzern on Saturday, leaving two banners hanging starkly over the empty terraces. The first read: "We just don't feel like it right now." The second, with 6' white letters on a black sheet, was blunter: "F--- OFF LAFC!"

The Decline of LAFC's Sister Club

Grasshoppers are the most decorated club in Swiss top-flight history, having claimed a record 27 league championships. Their last title, however, came in 2003. In the 21st century, the club have spent more seasons in the Swiss second division (two) than they have won titles (one).

This gradual decline predates LAFC's investment by well over a decade. Financial difficulties have plagued the historic club since 2007, when their Hardturm stadium was shut down for a redevelopment that never came to fruition. Grasshoppers are now forced to share the modest Letzigrund athletics stadium with bitter city rivals FC Zürich. The only atmosphere generated behind the running track has been one of intense frustration.

The lowest point arrived in 2019 when the Hoppers were relegated for the first time in 68 years, ending the season with two matches abandoned due to fan violence.

The following year, Grasshoppers were bought by Hong Kong-based Champion Union. The Chinese company is owned by Jenny Wang, wife of the head of Fosun International, which holds a majority stake in Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Fosun guided Grasshoppers back to the top flight in 2021, though the threat of relegation never fully disappeared.

During the season in which ownership transferred, Grasshoppers were forced into a relegation playoff to retain their top-flight status. A stoppage-time goal kept them up in 2024, before the same scenario unfolded a year later — with Grasshoppers again surviving the dreaded fixture after escaping automatic relegation on goal difference alone.

With just four matches left in the current season, LAFC's sister club appear to be heading toward that same grim outcome once again.

Why Anger Has Peaked Now

Even Grasshoppers' moments of promise now seem to set the stage for greater disappointment. LAFC's European counterparts balanced their typically poor league form with a run to the semifinals of Switzerland's premier domestic cup, where they were drawn against second-division side FC Stade Lausanne Ouchy. What appeared to be a clear path to the final quickly turned into an embarrassing stumble.

Grasshoppers never imposed themselves as the league table might have suggested, suffering a flat 2–0 defeat last Saturday that infuriated their supporters. Travelling fans attempted to invade the pitch, hurled flares at stewards and set off firecrackers beneath the team bus.

That fury had turned to indifference by the time Grasshoppers faced Luzern this weekend. If the near-empty stands didn't make the message clear enough, the banner below spelled it out plainly: "We just don't feel like it right now."

In the eyes of supporters, LAFC's role in this deterioration stems from a culture of relentless upheaval. The new ownership quickly installed LAFC chief operating and financial officer Stacy Johns as club president, and under her watch the managerial position has changed hands repeatedly.

"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."

Whether LAFC will heed that call remains to be seen.