However, a spokesman for the Mainz fan project Thomas Beckmann said the flag has been used for about eight years. “There is no political motivation whatsoever.” 

Mainz 05 fans displayed a flag with a white star and a machine pistol during their match against Augsburg on Saturday.

Instead of the RAF lettering, which the RAF logo had, the flag in the stadium said “Ultraszene Mainz”, and a DFB spokesman said they would ask Mainz to comment on the incident.

The logo of the terror organization, which disbanded in 1998, has never been banned, a spokesman for the German intelligence agency said.

Earlier Mainz spokesman Tobias Sparwasser criticised the flag as tasteless. “We will try to ensure that the flag does not appear again.” 

Beckmann said he had also spoken to the fans about the flag and wanted to do that again.

“A penalty from the DFB would be the wrong way. We have to show the people what a flag like that represents,” he said.