Qatar sponsorship at FC Bayern Munich has not only been controversial since the last general meeting. Now those responsible for the club are entering into a discussion with the fans. However, the public remains excluded.
With the discussion round, which is called “Round Table”, the club keeps its promise and invites its critical fans to a dialogue. FC Bayern’s connections to Qatar are a thorn in the side of some of the supporters. Banners in the stadium (“We wash everything clean for money”) bear witness to this, as does the Scandal at the last general meeting in November.
scandal and fan protests
At that time, the club leadership had rejected a request from member Michael Ott with the aim that the club should end its sponsorship partnership with Qatar Airways. However, the association refused to change the agenda, Even an urgent application before the district court in Munich I did not help Ott and his fellow campaigners.
When Ott then spontaneously brought up the subject of Qatar on the evening of the Annual General Meeting, there were ugly scenes and loud protests in the Audi Dome. The application was rejected by Vice President Dieter Mayer with reference to the court decision.
Christoph Heusgen, head of the Munich Security Conference, leads the discussion
Heusgen leads “round table”
FC Bayern had apparently underestimated this displeasure and the intensity of the discussion. A few days after the general meeting, Bavarian President Herbert Hainer offered a personal interview. After the FCB training camp 2020 in Doha, the club had previously announced that they would hold a “round table” to discuss the topic calmly. Due to the pandemic restrictions, this has not happened so far.
With Hainer and CEO Oliver Kahn, two club bosses are up for discussion today. The “round table” is chaired by none other than the head of the Munich Security Conference, Christoph Heusgen. However, the public is left out.
FC Bayern hopes for “factual dialogue”
The aim of the event is an “objective and direct dialogue about German and Qatari society, about criticism from human rights organizations and about the partnership between FC Bayern Munich AG and Qatar Airways,” it said beforehand. According to the record champions, this should lead to “better mutual understanding”.
It is important to Bayern that committed fans have their say on this subject, as they write in a message to their members. “Conversely, the Qatari participants should be given the opportunity to make comments and questions about Germany, German society and how their country is perceived in Germany,” it said.
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Source: BR24 Sport 04.07.2022 – 7:54 p.m
