Consultant reaction to protest banners
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This article first appeared on Transfermarkt at 12:45 p.m. and was subsequently updated (update in fourth paragraph).
Dietmar Hopp sat in the main stand wrapped up in a thick jacket, a blue and white scarf and a blanket – it’s getting frostier around the TSG 1899 Hoffenheim patron, and not just because of the winter temperatures. The 85-year-old billionaire was able to enjoy the Kraichgauer’s furious 3-1 victory in the “Unbeliebtico”, as the hosts themselves had advertised the game against RB Leipzig. However, the strong football performances are currently diametrically opposed to those of the management team.
TSG’s fourth Bundesliga victory in a row was overshadowed by the open power struggle in the management team – and the fans’ protests against Hopp’s intimacy and player agent Roger Wittmann. They have been resisting its influence for a long time, but Saturday’s actions had a new quality. Large protest banners against the player agent hung in the south curve. An ultra group had distributed flyers around the Sinsheim stadium with a wanted call for Wittmann. “Stop Wittmann” was the slogan on numerous posters distributed throughout the arena – Roger “Wittmann, get the fuck out of our club” on a large banner.
How influential Hopp still is in the club, even though the SAP co-founder is no longer the majority owner, was shown last week: The mudslinging, which is already being waged in court between the club and Wittmann, cost managing directors Markus Schütz and Frank Briel their jobs. The two had distanced themselves from Wittmann.
Update 5:20 p.m.: Player agent Wittmann is now taking legal action against TSG fans who distributed wanted posters with his likeness and hung them up in the stadium. “It is a deliberately infringing document that significantly violates our client’s personal rights, especially his right to his own image. He does not have to accept such a profile,” said Wittmann lawyer Dominik Höch (Potsdam), explaining the legal steps taken. According to its own information, his law firm has filed a criminal complaint and initiated civil legal action to injunct the publication. Höch also accused TSG of not protecting Wittmann.
Coach Christian Ilzer was the only person in charge to answer questions after the success against Leipzig and a turbulent week. A thankless task for the Austrian, who is also only a club employee. “We notice what’s happening outside, it concerns us, it’s discussed. But that hasn’t influenced our performance today in any way, because we’re just trying to do our job.” The 48-year-old then used a graphic comparison to describe the situation: “We are a ship on the high seas that has taken direction. If the ship changes shipping company, that will not change our job. We simply have to keep the ship on course.”
After the messed up last season, Ilzer has managed a remarkably successful turnaround – together with his compatriot and friend Andreas Schicker. The sports director is – alongside marketing man Tim Jost – the only person left in the TSG management team. It is uncertain whether Schicker will remain with Hoffenheim in the midst of the leadership crisis. “I would like to ask Andy about this topic,” said Ilzer. The manager is being traded at RB Salzburg as the successor to Rouven Schröder, who moved to Mönchengladbach.
According to its own statement, the club is “fully capable of acting”, but after the personnel quake first leaked out, it took two full days to officially announce the separation of Schütz and Briel. In the press release, Jörg Albrecht – as first chairman of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim eV and also the majority shareholder – speaks of “eventful times” in which one has to keep an eye on the big picture – “what is happening on the pitch”. Albrecht is currently plagued by completely different worries: the former mayor of Sinsheim made it public a few weeks ago that he has the serious nerve disease ALS.
Hoffenheim patron Hopp: “Stadium ban is a mess”
Despite all the empty words in club announcements, Hopp had long since made it clear which side he – still – is on. “The stadium ban for Roger Wittmann is a big mess,” he said on “Sport1”. TSG’s dispute with the player’s agent initially culminated in a stadium and house ban for Wittmann. This was partially overturned by the Heidelberg Regional Court in September.