Any Leeds United fans watching EURO 2024 this summer would have been deeply unsettled during games staged at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig. There were four in total, with the highest-profile fixture being between the Netherlands and France. 

The fly in the ointment at EURO 2024 

Incidentally, both of these countries, which played out to a 0-0 at the Red Bull Arena, feature heavily in the latest outright EUROs winner odds with the Netherlands at 5/1 and France at 11/4. 

While it’s likely that Spain will win this summer’s showpiece in Germany as the latest EURO 2024 tips make La Roja the team to beat at 15/8, the wider point is that the feeling of concern among Leeds’ hardcore supporters during games at this stadium was certainly warranted after Red Bull bought a stake in the West Yorkshire side in late May.

The hand of modern football strengthens on Leeds

The reason for this apprehension is simple: Red Bull doesn’t do tradition and they don’t do half measures. To that end, Red Bull’s interest in becoming a minority shareholder at Leeds is a curious one as there might not be a more traditional club in England than Leeds.

Just to put an end to the rumours… @Max33Verstappen will NOT be joining @LUFC for their 2024/25 season ❌@RedBullUK || #RedBullRacing https://t.co/uRRIktkcMX pic.twitter.com/ryjIy1BZgX

— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) May 30, 2024

Leeds have managed to avoid the sanitizing that modern football often imposes on clubs which is why the Championship outfit remains one of the last bastions of old-school footballing institutions in Europe.

Essentially, implementing wholesale change on a club like Leeds, which has done everything in its power to safeguard its identity, would lead to a brutal war between the club’s fans and Red Bull. 

The club’s majority owners, the 49ers’ Enterprises, have stressed that Red Bull won’t be allowed to tinker with the values that Leeds fans hold dear.

It is a reassuring message for now but a quick gaze across the England Channel and into Europe will send shivers down the spines of Leeds' support, it might also see fists clenched in preparation for a fight. 

The disconcerting tale of SV Austria Salzburg 

Red Bull currently has shares in six football clubs around the world. Their most controversial acquisition was SV Austria Salzburg which they bought outright in 2005.

The club had been founded in 1933 and played in violet and white but following the purchase by the energy drinks giant, Red Bull changed the kit to red and white and the name to Red Bull Salzburg. 

It was too much for the club’s ultras to stomach; they left and formed SV Austria Salzburg and started again in the eighth tier of Austrian football. Today, the club plies its trade in the third tier but is still without a permanent home.

In short, SV Austria Salzburg have been airbrushed from history following Red Bull’s involvement. Following the controversy in Salzburg, ultras around the continent refuse to travel to any Red Bull ground out of protest.

Stand up to someone your own size 

You can, all of a sudden, get a better idea of why Leeds fans might have shifted nervously in their seats during EURO 2024 after such a jarring reminder of what Red Bull tends to do to clubs as they use them as marketing tools for their energy drink.

There might be relative calm outside Elland Road now but make no mistake, there is trouble on the horizon. Only this time, Red Bull might have met their match.