The management of Hannover 96’s parent club has made massive allegations against the German Football League (DFL) and is calling for a “personal and structural new beginning” at the umbrella organization of the 36 German professional clubs.
In a statement published on Thursday, the board of directors and supervisory board of the eV accused the DFL of having “deliberately had the vote on investor entry carried out in such a way that it was as difficult as possible to determine Martin Kind’s voting behavior”.
In the controversial vote on the entry of an investor, the DFL received exactly the required two-thirds majority of 24 yes votes at a general meeting in December. Kind is said to have voted for it, contrary to the instructions of the parent club, thereby helping the DFL plan to achieve the necessary majority. The 79-year-old himself refers to the secret vote and refuses to provide any information about his vote.
Accusation: Voting was carried out “proactively” in secret
The club’s accusation: The DFL carried out the vote “proactively” in secret and thus favored the result. “The Presidium of the DFL knew that the vote would be very close. Test votes were carried out immediately before the actual vote. As a result, a member of the Presidium ordered the secret and therefore non-transparent vote, thus enabling Martin Kind to vote in the desired interest can,” said Hannover 96.
The vote from Hanover should have been fully taken into account in accordance with the parent association’s instructions and rated as no from the outset or, alternatively, it should have been ensured that Martin Kind’s voting behavior was understandable, it said.
“Deliberate inaction” at the DFL
“The DFL has been aware of Martin Kind’s ongoing violations of instructions for over two and a half years and has neither stopped them nor ensured the right to issue instructions within the framework of its own vote,” criticize the board and supervisory board members of Hannover 96 eV. The DFL is endangered “by the “deliberate inaction” jeopardizes the existence of the 50+1 rule in German football.
The 50+1 rule limits the influence of external donors on clubs in the first and second leagues. It is intended to ensure that parent clubs such as Hannover 96 eV retain final decision-making power even if the professional area has been spun off into a corporation such as Hannover 96 GmbH & Co. KGaA. In Hanover, the club and the capital have been at loggerheads about this for years.
96: “DFB must take a leadership role”
“The DFB must take a clear leadership role,” said the eV. “It must be ensured that the parent clubs’ right to give instructions is fully guaranteed in the future and that questions about the 50+1 rule are primarily questions that the parent clubs must advise and agree on are to be decided, and no longer by the DFL, because the 50+1 rule serves to protect the parent clubs.”
Fans show banners with a child in the crosshairs
Football fans have been demonstrating in numerous German stadiums for weeks against the planned investor entry. Hannover 96’s second division game at Hamburger SV was even about to be canceled because 96 supporters held up a poster showing Kind’s face in crosshairs. Protests are expected again at the home game against Greuther Fürth on Friday (6.30 p.m., in the live center on >).
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Sports current | 02/15/2024 | 4:20 p.m