Football fans have been protesting in stadiums for weeks against the DFL’s investor plans. As was shown on Wednesday, with great success.
With a never-ending rain of tennis balls, chocolate balls and other creative ideas, fans recently protested against the German Football League’s investor plans during prime time. Even an abandonment of the game seemed possible in the messy dispute.
The DFL defended its considerations as an opportunity for development and more competitiveness – until Wednesday evening. Then the decision was made: the DFL ended all negotiations, the fans won. There will be no planned entry by an investor (you can read more about this here).
What had fans so upset? What was the dispute about? t-online gives another small overview.
Why did people keep protesting?
The active fan scenes seemed to have the feeling that the DFL wanted to wait out the protests and there was no reaction. “This vote to allow an investor to enter the league is totally wrong. And we have to try somehow to defend ourselves against it,” explained a representative of the Hertha BSC fan scene. It was also said that a game abandonment would have been accepted.
What was the DFL planning?
A financial investor should pay one billion euros for a percentage share of the TV revenue. The DFL wanted to invest a large part of the income in the further development of the business model, especially in strengthening foreign marketing and preventing piracy. According to Supervisory Board Chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke, the investor should be presented this season. The DFL reduced the number of applicants from the initial five to the two companies Blackstone and CVC in a unanimous decision by the Executive Committee.
What did the fans criticize?
There is general skepticism among active fan scenes towards investors in football because they see this as a threat to traditions and the continued commercialization of the sport.
The process was criticized for this. In the final vote of the 36 professional clubs for the multi-billion dollar deal in December, the necessary two-thirds majority was only barely achieved. The voting behavior of Martin Kind for Hannover 96, who was instructed by the parent club to oppose it, but may not have complied with this request, raised questions. The fan alliance “Our Curve” called for the vote to be repeated.
How did the cancellation come about?
“A successful continuation of the process no longer seems possible in view of current developments. Even if there is a large majority in favor of the entrepreneurial necessity of the strategic partnership,” explained the DFL supervisory board chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke, who is also managing director of Borussia Dortmund, on Wednesday in the announcement.
“German professional football is in the midst of a breaking point,” stated Watzke. “The viability of a successful contract conclusion in terms of financing the 36 clubs can no longer be guaranteed given the circumstances in the league association with its 36 member clubs.” Even any further votes would not solve the problem.