Bundesliga Ultra to investor exit
“Glad that we no longer have to protest on the back of sport”
As of: 2:15 p.m. | Reading time: 3 minutes
“The DFL must become more active and successful abroad”
There have been fan protests against an investor’s entry into German professional football for weeks – they should now end. Because the DFL stopped the negotiations. And thus foregoes a billion-dollar deal. Now other financing options must be found, says sports economist Christoph Breuer on WELT TV.
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The DFL’s investor deal failed. The ultras celebrate the success of their protests. The lead singer of Hertha BSC now reveals a very idiosyncratic view of things. The Ultras also make a request to the clubs.
According to their leader, the ultras of second division team Hertha BSC will stop their protest after the failure of investors to join the German Football League (DFL). “We are glad that it is over and that we no longer have to protest on the back of sport,” emphasized the man called “Kreisel” from the ultra group “Harlekins Berlin 98” in an interview with rbb. “Nothing will happen in Braunschweig that will be similar to a form of protest,” he said. The Berliners play at Eintracht Braunschweig on Saturday (1 p.m./Sky).
But he can only speak for the Hertha fans. “Because we don’t go to the stadium to throw tennis balls either. That bothers us too. There is also an interruption for us, we also know that it is not good for the team,” said the cantor. “It was a means to an end – and nothing else.” Other, less disruptive forms of protest had previously not been taken seriously. A very idiosyncratic view of the issue, after all the protest was a free decision of the supporters.
After weeks of fan protests, the DFL executive board decided on Wednesday to end negotiations with the last remaining applicant, CVC. Just over a year ago, the DFL’s plans first became known to sell 12.5 percent of the shares in a new subsidiary for 20 years. Media rights should be outsourced there; an investor should pay two billion euros to get involved. The sovereignty of the 36 professional clubs should remain untouched. After the plans became known, there were already protests from fans; at the general meeting on May 24th, the plans failed to achieve the required two-thirds majority among the clubs.
Hertha Ultras threw tennis balls onto the grass during several games and caused longer interruptions in the game
Quelle: Getty Images/Maja Hitij
The first signals for a second attempt in a scaled-down form followed in September. The investor was supposed to pay one billion euros for a smaller stake. On December 11th, 24 of the 36 clubs – exactly two thirds – voted in favor. It is unclear whether Hanover’s managing director Martin Kind voted yes, contrary to the parent club’s instructions. The fan protests against the decision increased massively, and the DFL continued to negotiate, most recently with the company CVC.
Ultras demand better exchange
Hertha had previously voted against the deal. “Kreisel” praised the cooperation of the fan scenes in the matter: “Without the strength of all locations and pursuing the same goal together, we would not have made any progress. Given that, it’s a whole movement that’s done this.”
“The DFL must become more active and successful abroad”
There have been fan protests against an investor’s entry into German professional football for weeks – they should now end. Because the DFL stopped the negotiations. And thus foregoes a billion-dollar deal. Now other financing options must be found, says sports economist Christoph Breuer on WELT TV.
Source: WELT TV / Tatjana Ohm, Thomas Klug
He hopes for better exchange between both sides in the future. “We have to smell the danger earlier and enter into dialogue with the club. The other way around: The club has to proactively approach the active fan scene, actually every member – ideally at an annual general meeting or members’ meeting,” he said.