After his dismissal as managing director by the board of directors of Hannover 96 eV, Martin Kind has the decision legally examined. This was announced by Hannover 96 Management GmbH on Thursday.
In justifying the separation from Kind, who has held various management positions for Lower Saxony for almost 25 years, eV chairman Sebastian Kramer spoke of “important reasons”. Exactly this is now probably legally evaluated, only with a confirmation in court would the decision according to the club statutes be legal even without the consent of the supervisory board.
In a brief statement on Wednesday evening, 96 announced the surprising dismissal of the 78-year-old: “Martin Kind was dismissed as managing director of Hannover 96 Management GmbH with immediate effect for important reasons. The committees will decide promptly on the new appointment of the management. The board Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896 eV” Now the longtime club boss is fighting back.
Child: Only the supervisory board may dismiss managing directors
At Hannover 96 there is a complicated structure of several companies. The 78-year-old child is the majority shareholder of Hannover 96 Sales&Service GmbH&Co. KG, which owns 100 percent of professional football KGaA. However, since the 50+1 rule in Germany stipulates that the parent association must always have the majority of votes in an outsourced corporation, the managing directors of the KGaA are appointed by Hannover 96 Management GmbH. And it belongs 100 percent to the parent club.
Kind’s dismissal was a decision of the eV board on Wednesday evening. However, the hearing aid entrepreneur points out that only the Supervisory Board of Management GmbH can appoint and dismiss a managing director. This body consists of two representatives each from the capital and association side, but according to the KGaA, was not informed about Kind’s dismissal. In the meantime, when asked, Kramer confirmed that the eV had already found a successor for Kind.
The club structure of Hannover 96.
Criticism by Schatzschneider and Neururer
Club icon Dieter Schatzschneider clearly criticized the surprising dismissal. “If this board now takes over the professionals, it will be the end of professional football from 96. I’m angry because Martin Kind is always hit, especially by the board of the entire club,” said the 64-year-old HAZ.
Former 96 coach Peter Neururer also finds it difficult to understand the decision. “Without Martin Kind, 96 would have disappeared from the football map long ago. Hopefully the people involved know exactly what they’re doing and who they have to replace in the future,” said the 67-year-old.
Conflicts after applying for exemption from 50+1 rule
Kind had been elected president of Hannover 96 in 1997 when the club was playing in the third division. Under him, the return to the Bundesliga, the conversion of the stadium into a World Cup arena – and the spin-off of the professional area succeeded. As a child, after 20 years of promoting his club, just like VfL Wolfsburg, Bayer Leverkusen and 1899 Hoffenheim, wanted to get an exemption from the 50+1 rule in the German Football League (DFL), the conflicts came to a head at 96. Kind’s application was rejected, and opposition within the club grew stronger.
When the long-time club boss retired as president of the parent club to only take care of professional football, the members elected child opponents and 50+1 supporters to the top of Hannover 96 eV in 2019. From then on, the capital and club side worked more against than with each other.
Schäfer rejected as a child successor
Both sides could never agree on a common candidate for the child’s successor at the top of professional football society. The eV leadership rejected Robert Schäfer, who was only committed by child and drugstore entrepreneur Dirk Roßmann in 2021. The conflicts seemed to have calmed down for the time being because Kind used his money to compensate for the losses of the Corona period and put together a highly ambitious new team this summer. But this calm is now over. With further chaos looming, Kind and his comrades-in-arms should withdraw their funds. The parent club would have to provide potent alternatives.
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Sports current | 07/28/2022 | 1:17 p.m
