of planning to defect to West Germany in 1981. Weber had solicited plans to defect, but the other two had not. Weber received a prison sentence and a lifetime ban from playing football at any level in East Germany, while Kotte and Müller received lifetime bans from playing in the top two tiers for alleged complicity. Neither would return to the Oberliga. The punishment against the three players led to rumors and protests in Dresden. They also fueled local patriotism and anti-Berlin sentiments in Dresden. Fans of Dynamo Dresden saw the lifetime bans on Weber, Kotte and Müller as "an order from Erich Mielke" designed to weaken Dynamo Dresden. Also, Kotte has claimed they were part of a delibate plan by Mielke to weaken Dynamo Dresden. However, such claims are doubtful. The three players had been reported by an unofficial collaborator (IM) and Mielke was convinced that all three were originally prepared to defect. Kotte was not an isolated case. The great fear of footballers, fans and officials who had fled East Germany was omnipresent at the Stasi. Kotte and Müller knew about the intentions of Weber. Their failure to inform authorities was critical. Former SED First Secretary in Bezik Dresden Hans Modrow concludes that the measures against the three were "generally cautious", given the completely different consequences for other East German citizens in similar contexts. After all, the three were also members of the armed organs () with ranks. Müller said in an interview with Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten in 2011 that he "knew one hundred percent" that the uncompromising actions against the three players were a deliberate attempt by the Stasi to weaken Dynamo Dresden in order to secure the supremacy of BFC Dynamo. BFC Dynamo and Dynamo Dresden would be the two main contenders for titles in East German football during the 1980s. BFC Dynamo dominated the DDR-Oberliga and won consecutive titles, while Dynamo Dresden had major success in the FDGB-Pokal. The two teams met in the 1981-82 FDGB-Pokal and 1983-84 FDGB-Pokal final. Dynamo Dresden won both finals and thus stopped BFC Dynamo from completing the Double. The teams then also met in the 1984-85 FDGB-Pokal final. The performance of the referees in the final was controversial. A review by the DFV found that 30 percent of the referee decisions during the match had been wrong, and that 80 percent of those had been of disadvantage to Dynamo