Conversation with CEO Schroeder
DFB interim president Hans-Joachim Watzke has suggested financial aid for FC Schalke 04 should the second division side separate from its controversial Russian main sponsor “Gazprom”. “First of all, I’m very happy that Schalke showed their attitude. I hope that it will continue,” said Watzke to the “ZDF-Sportstudio”. “And if this also requires the solidarity of the other clubs in Germany in order to get them out of this situation reasonably well, then we have to discuss how we can do it.”
Watzke, who is also the managing director of Schalke’s archrival Borussia Dortmund, called the Gelsenkircheners an “important part of German football culture and German football. I’m very, very happy that the new management is now showing a clear attitude,” said the 62-year-old, adding: “And in the end, I think, that can only lead to ending this sponsorship.”
On Sunday there was a conversation between Watzke and Dr. Bernd Schröder, who has been CEO of the Royal Blues since the beginning of the year. The confirmed Schalke of the “WAZ“: “Bernd Schröder called Aki Watzke today – it was a good conversation. We won’t say anything about the content for the time being, so I ask for your patience.”
Lode, Terodde & Co.: All Schalke additions for the 2021/22 season
According to the newspaper, the club’s contract with the main sponsor in the second division, which runs until 2025, is worth 8 to 10 million euros, which would be lost if the cooperation ended immediately. In the Bundesliga, “Gazprom” pays up to 20 million euros. It is not to be expected that a new main sponsor will provide a similar sum, but other models, such as several smaller sponsors or a crowdfunding campaign to close the possible financial gap by the end of the season, would be discussed internally.
In order to clear the way for a new sponsor, FC Schalke would have to terminate the contract with “Gazprom”. According to Rainer Cherkeh, a lawyer specializing in sports law, this dismissal would “withstand judicial review”. “In the case of a sponsorship agreement, either party can terminate the agreement without notice if there is an important reason. The current dramatic development should justify such an extraordinary right of termination for Schalke 04, mainly because the Russian Federation controls the Gazprom group as the largest shareholder,” said Cherkeh.
For the end of Schalke’s Gazprom contract: Peters agrees with Watzke
DFB presidential candidate Peter Peters, who was CFO at Schalke for ten years and was therefore jointly responsible for the cooperation with “Gazprom”, agreed with Watzke. “Gazprom” is currently a major sponsor of the European Football Union UEFA and the second division club Schalke 04, among others. “A clear yes,” Peters replied when asked whether UEFA and Schalke should end their cooperation with the Russian energy giant. It is neither communicable nor responsible to continue like this. “Things have changed so massively. It can’t go on like this,” said Peters.
Schalke announced on Thursday after the Russian invasion of Ukraine that they would no longer wear the logo of the main Russian sponsor. Fan articles with the “Gazprom” logo are no longer available in the fan shop either. It had previously become known that the businessman Matthias Warnig, who had been sanctioned by the USA in the course of the Ukraine war, had resigned from the Schalke supervisory board. Warnig is the CEO of Nord Stream 2 AG, which is a subsidiary of the Russian energy company Gazprom.
To home page