Hertha BSC mourns the loss of its president. The Berlin football club announced the death of 43-year-old Kay Bernstein on Tuesday. The club did not provide any information about the circumstances. Bernstein leaves behind his partner and a daughter.
“Today, Tuesday, Hertha BSC received the terrible news that President Kay Bernstein died unexpectedly at the age of 43,” Hertha wrote in a statement: “The entire club, its committees and employees are stunned and deeply dismayed.”
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It continued: “The Hertha family mourns with Kay’s survivors and their thoughts are with his family, friends and companions during this difficult time. We ask that the family’s privacy be respected following this terrible event.”
Reports of a rescue operation
According to the “Berliner Zeitung”, there was an emergency medical intervention on Tuesday at Bernstein’s house in Hoppegarten, east of Berlin. As a result, the rescue workers could no longer do anything for him.
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According to information from the “BZ”, Bernstein was in contact with colleagues from the executive committee via email on Monday evening before he went to bed. On Tuesday morning his partner called the fire department. According to the report, a heart attack during sleep is suspected. Bernstein’s partner then informed Hertha BSC about the accident.
In mid-October, Bernstein broke three vertebrae in an accident at the office and was in the hospital. After that, he said he felt fine again. On Thursday last week he traveled to the Hertha team’s training camp near Alicante and was in a good mood there. He stayed in Spain until Sunday and then traveled back to Berlin like the team, albeit on a different flight.
Bernstein during the general meeting in May 2023, one year after his election
Source: dpa/Jean-Marc Wiesner
Bernstein had been President of Hertha since June 2022 and replaced Werner Gegenbauer at the helm of the club. At the general meeting he was surprisingly elected against the favored CDU politician Frank Steffel and another competitor. “The news of Kay Bernstein’s death completely shocked me,” wrote Steffel, who is president of Füchse Berlin: “In numerous encounters and conversations, I learned to appreciate him as a warm person. This is how I will remember him fondly.”
Bernstein was considered the first fan president
Bernstein’s election made headlines across the country because he had previously been an auditioner for the Hertha team. He was considered the first fan president in the Bundesliga and dressed accordingly. The owner of an event agency often appeared publicly in Hertha training jackets and made the office and club more approachable. “We were well on the way to becoming irrelevant to people,” he said in 2022: “And that was something I couldn’t allow because it broke my heart.”
Under Bernstein, despite the relegation in the summer of 2023, the cohesion between fans and the team grew, and players from the team’s own youth were increasingly integrated into it. But the club boss also quickly realized that wishes and reality cannot always be reconciled. He openly admitted this last summer: “For me today it’s a little like the Greens, who are suddenly caught up in realpolitik.”
At that time, Bernstein was criticized because it was announced that a betting provider would be the main sponsor of the Berliners. He had vehemently ruled out working with such companies in his election manifesto (“We don’t want money from betting providers”). After relegation from the Bundesliga, the indebted club once again fought for survival and permission to play in the second division at all. Hertha was dependent on the financial donations.
Bernstein recently emphasized that he was particularly happy about the new cohesion in the club. Other clubs also acknowledged this after the news of his death. The regional league team Energie Cottbus wrote: “From the fan block to the management level of a large football club, this is Kay Bernstein’s career at Hertha BSC. So much would have been possible along this path, but it has now gone, and far too soon.”
Union President Zingler condoles
Many Hertha professionals posted a photo of Bernstein on Instagram and added an emoji with folded hands. The city rival also expressed his condolences. “Kay Bernstein has already left a formative mark in his unfortunately far too short tenure at Hertha BSC. The terrible news of his death was also a shock for us Unioners, and we share the pain and sadness of the Hertha family,” wrote the President of 1. FC Union Berlin, Dirk Zingler, to Hertha.
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Numerous other clubs also expressed their condolences to Bernstein’s family. Hamburger SV, for example, wrote on X: “Rest in peace, Kay Bernstein. We express our condolences to his family, his relatives and his friends.” Herbert Hainer, President of FC Bayern, said: “FC Bayern is united in mourning with the entire football family around Kay Bernstein. Our thoughts are with the family, relatives, companions and his club Hertha BSC.”
There was great shock in Berlin politics on Tuesday. “I am deeply shocked by the news of the death of Hertha BSC President Kay Bernstein,” said Berlin sports senator Iris Spranger (SPD): “My thoughts are now with his family and friends, to whom I would like to express my sincere condolences. Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner added: “At the age of 43, he was in the middle of life. With his Berlin path, he has only just managed to reunite fans and club. My thoughts are with his family and friends in these difficult times.”
Hertha BSC is still in the winter break. Coach Pal Dardai’s team, currently in seventh place in the table, will play their first second division game of the new year on Sunday. The Berliners welcome Fortuna Düsseldorf to the Olympic Stadium.
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