2. Bundesliga side Dynamo Dresden have been fined £54,000 after their fans threw a bull’s head near the pitch during a German Cup victory over RB Leipzig in August.

The club will also have to close off parts of their stadium for one match as an additional punishment handed out by the German Football Association.

Dresden’s opponents on that day have become one of the most unpopular clubs in Germany as they are bankrolled by energy drink company Red Bull. RB Leipzig beat Mainz on Sunday to go joint top of the Bundesliga after Bayern Munich had slipped up at home to Hoffenheim.

Leipzig’s nickname is the Bulls, which undoubtedly provoked the home fans to throw the severed head amongst other things. The Dresden fans also produced a number of provocative banners – including one that read “You cannot buy tradition” – and threw coins at the opposition players.

Red Bull bought the fifth-division team SSV Markranstädt in 2009 and swiftly changed its name and its entire identity. German laws do not allow clubs to be named by sponsors, so RB officially stands for Rasenballsport (‘lawn ball sports’), but it is not hard to see through that moniker.

The sponsors invested significantly in the club and provided an enormous transfer budget to allow the club to rise through the leagues.

During their seven-year journey from the fifth division all the way to the top of the Bundesliga, the club has endured a number of protests from opposition fans.

Fans of Borussia Dortmund, the club with the highest average attendance in European football, boycotted their away match in Leipzig at the beginning of September in protest.