Hertha BSC in court
Hertha BSC accuses Fredi Bobic of betraying secrets
As of: 4:16 p.m. | Reading time: 3 minutes
Hertha and Bobic face each other in two cases
Source: dpa
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The legal dispute between Hertha BSC and Fredi Bobic leads to a first encounter. The reason for the immediate termination of the ex-managing director becomes clear. Things get down to business in court.
In the legal dispute between ex-managing director Fredi Bobic and Hertha BSC, the Berlin regional court dismissed the 52-year-old’s lawsuit against his ordinary dismissal. The court did not decide on Monday whether the immediate termination issued by the second division soccer team was legal, as it said in a statement. A date for the continuation of the oral hearing was scheduled for May 27th (10:00 a.m.). Evidence may then be taken. It is also possible that Bobic will be called as a witness. The partial judgment is not yet legally binding. An appeal can be lodged against this.
The football club first gave the 52-year-old an ordinary and then an extraordinary notice of termination at the beginning of 2023. As the presiding judge Dr. Astrid Zilm said someone at Hertha had heard that Bobic had given secret documents to Mr. Hellmann. No further information was provided. In this case, the 52-year-old would have violated a confidentiality clause. This is how Hertha justified the announcement of a dismissal on suspicion.
Dr. Astrid Zilm, presiding judge
Source: dpa
In the event of such a termination, Hertha would have had to listen to Bobic about this unproven suspicion and provide sufficient information about the allegations beforehand. The hearing did not take place. The ex-manager’s lawyers argue that the invitation was sent to Bobic at too short notice. The court saw arguments for both sides. This could also be interpreted as a waiver of a hearing.
“We are not with the Berlin Philharmonic”
Bobic had also reacted angrily to a reporter’s question immediately before his termination after the derby defeat against Union Berlin. “If you ask again, you’ll get slapped,” the 52-year-old said to an RBB reporter as he walked away. He apologized for the incident shortly afterwards.
Here the court showed understanding for the possible emotionality after such a game. “We are not at the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra or at an interview at a law firm,” she said. It is questionable whether this should really be interpreted as a serious threat.
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However, Hertha lawyer Johan-Michel Menke pointed out that Bobic had signed a code of conduct with Hertha. This obliges all employees to treat other people internally and publicly with “dignity and respect” and to “respect the independence of journalists and media”. However, Bobic’s lawyers argued that this code of conduct was submitted to the court too late.
Out-of-court settlement still possible
When it comes to ordinary termination, the court tends to judge that it is legal, said Zilm. Bobic would then be entitled to a contractually agreed severance payment if the extraordinary termination was declared unlawful. An out-of-court settlement is also still possible. However, both sides are obviously far apart financially. The Bobic side rejected an initial offer from Hertha. It was “clearly far from the minimum,” said lawyer Matthias Weidmann.
This is not the only case in the district court. According to a court spokeswoman, the second document process initiated by Bobic is about the possible obtaining of an enforcement order against Hertha. All appointments there have so far been cancelled, most recently due to a request for bias from Hertha.
If Bobic receives this enforcement order, Hertha would have to pay out the manager’s salary, which has been frozen for around a year. However, if the chamber comes to the conclusion in follow-up proceedings that the terminations were legal, the 52-year-old would have to pay back the money.