Sports director Max Eberl also tried to reassure everyone that it was just a matter of watching training sessions.
Eberl, Dreesen and Kompany made a fatal mistake. It’s about more than that. When FC Bayern Munich rolls out the red carpet for affair professional Jérôme Boateng, it proves that in Untergiesing, despite all the warm words and PR campaigns, the commitment against violence – and not just against women – is not seen as quite as urgent. Once again, the people of Munich are making a major misjudgment, as was the case with the PR disasters surrounding the sponsorship from Qatar and Rwanda. Humanly speaking, this club is and remains a disappointment. On the one hand, he is committed to social and socio-political issues, but on the other hand, he courts such a burdened ex-player: It just doesn’t fit together.
Boateng’s reputation is permanently and irreparably damaged. If the internship actually takes place in Munich, FC Bayern also risks sustaining lasting damage. And it is irrelevant whether the 37-year-old, as reported, would only be a guest at the club for a week. The signaling effect is crucial.
So many questions arise: Why are Bayern making themselves so vulnerable? Are they simply bad advice? Don’t you realize the seriousness of the situation?
The Munich fans are already up in arms against the personnel. On the sidelines of the top Bundesliga game against Borussia Dortmund, unmistakable criticism was expressed on a generously sized banner, the online petition “Jérôme Boateng is not allowed to return to FC Bayern” already has over 6,000 signatories.
Bayern seemed to be making progress. Only almost two years ago, in October 2023, Boateng was about to return to the club as an active player. The Bayern fans also protested back then. And what happened? FC Bayern decided against him. Sports director Christoph Freund explained at the time: “It is very important for FC Bayern and also for me personally to uphold the values of FC Bayern. Domestic violence, violence against children or against anyone in general cannot be tolerated for us and there can be no acceptance for it.”