“Private interests?” SPD puts Interior Minister Reul under pressure
Herbert Reul is a Bayer Leverkusen fan
Source: dpa/Christoph Reichwein
The Bundesliga game between Leverkusen and Cologne was postponed at short notice to the displeasure of the guests. Now it turns out that the Minister of the Interior, holder of a Leverkusen season ticket, approved the whole thing. The SPD now wants to have his role reviewed.
Dhe controversial relocation of the derby in the Bundesliga between Bayer Leverkusen and 1. FC Köln is now also occupying state politics in North Rhine-Westphalia. The SPD parliamentary group in the Düsseldorf state parliament has made a small request to the state government to examine the role of NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU).
A spokesman for Reul had previously confirmed that the minister had asked the police for a “benevolent examination” of the move forward, “as in similar cases with other clubs, by the way.” The spokesman also confirmed that Reul is a season ticket holder at Bayer Leverkusen, but vehemently denied the minister’s personal interests: “He himself will not be able to see the game due to the advance. He could have done it on Sunday, but not on Friday.”
Trouble also at 1. FC Köln
“What domestic and security policy considerations prompted the Minister of the Interior to get involved in this matter and to work towards the Cologne Police Headquarters, which is under his control, to move the game?”, according to the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger” the question says: “To what extent did the Minister of the Interior with his request also private interests such as obtaining advantages for his favorite club? “
Due to their semi-final first leg in the Europa League next Thursday at AS Roma, Leverkusen had the game transferred from Sunday to Friday. This gives the team two more days to prepare for the important game.
Above all, the people of Cologne had complained that they were not involved in the transfer process at an early stage. Sports director Christian Keller vented his anger and criticized the Rhenish rivals and the German Football League. “No one here wants to know what the processes are like, otherwise one or the other will lose faith in the integrity of the competition.”
