BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – The German Football League (DFL) has invited representatives of the fan scene to talks after the ongoing protests against the entry of an investor into the league association. Fan organizations rejected this late in the evening. “The DFL leadership has been ignoring the criticism from the curves since it began at the end of last year,” it said in a statement: “It seems as if they want to wait out the conflict. The current offer for dialogue is not a rethink. It is a fig leaf. Because it does not contain any offer for negotiations.”
The DFL had previously written: “Along with the right to have a say, we must all accept the responsibility to deal intensively with critical issues. Not every exchange can guarantee that all discussion partners will then agree.” The DFL executive committee now wants to speak to representatives of nationwide fan organizations and fan scene alliances. There was no information yet on a date.
In recent days, calls for a new vote have increased from some clubs. The DFL did not comment on this in its statement. It was the league association’s first public statement on the issue after protests reached a new peak last weekend.
“Both the DFL and the clubs respect when fan groups reject the chosen model. However, part of dealing with one another in a sporting manner is that the arguments of the other party are heard,” it said. The league association also pointed out that there had already been numerous discussions and conversations with fans in different formats at club level.
There have been protests against the DFL plans from the active fan scenes for months, which have recently intensified. A financial investor is to pay the DFL one billion euros for a percentage share of the TV revenue. In the final vote of the 36 professional clubs for the 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 vote against it, caused questions./dav/DP/he