Dispute between Hertha and Bobic: Ordinary termination lawful

Lawsuit dismissed

In the legal dispute between ex-managing director Fredi Bobic and Hertha BSC, the Berlin regional court dismissed the 52-year-old’s lawsuit against his ordinary dismissal. The court did not decide on Monday whether the immediate termination issued by the second division soccer team was legal, as it said in a statement. A date for the continuation of the oral hearing was scheduled for May 27th (10:00 a.m.). Evidence may then be taken. It is also possible that Bobic will be called as a witness. The partial judgment is not yet legally binding. An appeal can be lodged against this.

The crux of the procedure is the legality of the extraordinary termination. After ordinary termination, Bobic is entitled to a contractually agreed severance payment, but not in the case of lawful extraordinary termination. For the financially struggling Hertha, a lot of money is at stake.

Hertha gave the 52-year-old an ordinary and then extraordinary notice of termination at the beginning of 2023. The latter is based on two reasons: As the presiding judge Dr. Astrid Zilm said on Monday that someone at the club had heard that Bobic had passed secret documents to Mr. Hellmann. No further information was provided. In this case, Bobic would have violated a confidentiality clause. This is how Hertha justified the announcement of a dismissal on suspicion. Then Hertha would have had to listen to Bobic about this unproven suspicion. That didn’t happen. The ex-manager’s lawyers argue that the invitation to the hearing was sent to Bobic at too short notice. The court saw arguments for both sides.

Bobic had also reacted angrily to a reporter’s question immediately before his termination after the derby defeat against Union Berlin. He apologized for the incident shortly afterwards. Hertha sees this, among other things, as a violation of the club’s code of conduct.

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