Presidential election, Qatar debate – and the top game against Freiburg: FC Bayern Munich is facing a groundbreaking weekend full of pitfalls.
The situation is once again highly explosive at FC Bayern, two fuses are on the powder keg – and everyone fears the big bang.
First the annual general meeting with the planned re-election of President Herbert Hainer and the heated Qatar debate, then the explosive top Bundesliga game against SC Freiburg: The Munich team can look forward to an exciting weekend.
In terms of sport, against the best away team in the league on Sunday (7:30 p.m.), it’s all about “going in the right direction again in the Bundesliga,” as coach Julian Nagelsmann emphasized. Just one win from the last six games – after all, that’s anything but “Bayern-like”.
With a success, the third in the table would overtake the second. “It will be very important that we win the game. We will do everything we can,” promised Thomas Müller. He knows that if the ambitious project fails, the coaching debate, which has just ended with boss Oliver Kahn’s word of authority, would flare up again – and possibly everything would blow up.
Müller should be ready despite the back problems from the Champions League game in Pilsen (4: 2). That should also apply to Jamal Musiala after his corona isolation and the recently ailing Alphonso Davies and Serge Gnabry. Things get tighter for captain Manuel Neuer (shoulder) and Matthijs de Ligt (adductors). Müller is certain: “We can start Sunday with a good feeling.”
Qatar debate concerns FC Bayern
For real? Before that, on Saturday (6:00 p.m.), the Bavarian “party conference” is taking place in the Audi Dome – and there, after last year’s chaos, the next row over the Qatar question is looming, despite Hainer’s pleas. “It’s a matter close to my heart to show that it wasn’t the real FC Bayern,” said the president in view of the turmoil around eleven months ago. It may be discussed “critically”, but please in a “targeted” manner.
But there are still rumblings in the camp of organized fans. For many, it seems to have long been agreed that the controversial sponsorship contract with Qatar Airways will be extended beyond 2023. Especially since honorary president Uli Hoeneß, who continues to sit on the powerful supervisory board, is publicly promoting further cooperation.
CEO Kahn and Hainer approached the critics, and in the summer they invited two fans to a round table with representatives from the World Cup host country. The supporters submitted a catalog of questions, to which Bayern presented 32 (!) answers this week. The fans welcomed this step in principle, but again expressed reservations.
Criticism of FC Bayern’s reaction
For club member Michael Ott, who has become the mouthpiece for Qatar critics, “many answers are just hot air”. The fan umbrella organization Club No. 12 called Bayern’s reaction “a bit meaningless”.
In fact, the bosses have not answered which specific improvements in the human rights situation in the desert state can be directly attributed to the sponsorship. The “dialogue” that the club likes to quote, say the fans, can also be continued without a contract, for example in the established winter training camp.
Despite the explosive situation, Hainer is “confident that this annual general meeting will be more harmonious”, as he told the Munich “Merkur/tz”. Last year “everyone made mistakes and for my part I want to do better this time”. After all, he is aiming for another three years at the top of the club.
On Friday, Kahn campaigned for Hainer’s re-election, saying the president “fits in perfectly with FC Bayern and lives this club.” Hainer sees himself as the club’s “servant” and finds it “simply great” with the record champions. Even if it crashes again.