Munich (dpa) – Rainer Koch gives up – the official career of the controversial DFB string puller is coming to an end after the personal punishment at the DFB Bundestag.
Three and a half weeks after the failed re-election to the presidium of the German Football Association (DFB) in Bonn, the 63-year-old lawyer draws consequences from the surprising and deeply hurtful defeat against opponent Silke Sinning.
“I myself will set my personal priorities in the future and return to my job at the turn of the year,” said Koch, who had recently stopped working as a judge in Munich because of the time-consuming offices in football, in a statement from the Bavarian Football Association .
DFB “notes” decision
According to his own statements, Koch had offered UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin and the newly elected DFB President Bernd Neuendorf his early withdrawal from the Executive Committee of the European Football Union immediately after the Bundestag. In addition, at the end of June he will no longer – as originally planned – run for another term as President of the Bavarian Football Association. He had already informed the BFV board of this decision on March 12th.
“There was no question for me that I would respect the result of the DFB Bundestag and that I would do my part in the interest of the BFV for a quick change in the leadership of the association.” Koch is leaving the top office in the largest of the 21 DFB state associations after 18 years. The post in Bavaria was always Koch’s power base.
In a first reaction, the DFB “took note” of Koch’s decision in an impartial manner. One would “discuss the situation in the presidium and with the responsible authorities”. One does not want to anticipate these consultations, it said in response to a dpa request.
Neuendorf: “Democracy in the association works”
As a long-standing first vice president, Koch played a role in the DFB, which was burdened by a number of affairs and presidential resignations, and which had recently brought him more and more criticism. Many delegates no longer wanted to tackle the new start in the DFB with the unencumbered lateral entrant Neuendorf (60) with Koch as a teammate. Neuendorf rated the votes in the Bundestag as “proof that democracy works in the association”.
Koch has also led the association three times as interim president, most recently after the resignation of Fritz Keller, with whom there had previously been a deep personal rift.
After Koch was voted out, Neuendorf, as a new, strong man, quickly focused on the top international positions at FIFA and UEFA. Germany is the EM host in 2024, so a German government member in the umbrella organization is particularly important.
Koch has been elected to the UEFA executive until spring 2025. The office is remunerated with over 150,000 euros annually. Peter Peters (59) represents the DFB on the FIFA Council. The former Schalke CFO had lost the presidential election against Neuendorf. Neuendorf announced a reassessment of the situation. “Rainer Koch and Peter Peters, our two representatives, clearly lost in the voting and are no longer on the Executive Committee.”
Recognized the signs of the times
Koch has apparently recognized the signs of the times. He offered Ceferin and Neuendorf “to leave the UEFA Executive Committee as soon as my departure from this function is deemed appropriate in the interests of the DFB and its new president, as well as UEFA”. After making his decisions known, he left for a UEFA meeting in Nyon, Switzerland. It could be one of his last UEFA official trips. Another German, former Bayern boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, is a member of the European Football Executive Committee as an ECA club representative.
UEFA regulations stipulate that members of the Executive Committee must be president or vice-president of their national association. That’s why Koch’s re-election was so important. “If a member ceases to meet this requirement during their term of office, they may continue to hold the position of Executive Committee member for the remainder of their term of office, unless their association asks UEFA to remove them from office,” the statutes read statutes Peters is said to be reluctant to relinquish his lucrative FIFA position.
Koch was always the advocate of amateurs in the DFB. In the professional camp he had many opponents. The currently bad reputation of the association was linked in particular to his person. He himself felt like a victim of a public campaign.
There will also be a change of plan at the BFV Association Day at the end of June in Bad Gögging. “The BFV, as by far the largest state association, no longer has a representative in the 16-strong DFB executive committee. Under these circumstances, it is better for the BFV if I don’t run for a last time after 18 years – as has actually been planned for a long time ‘ said Cook.