DFL dispute: Watzke begs fans
How the stubborn child is driving German football crazy
By Sebastian Schneider
February 16, 2024, 6:52 p.m
The DFL is in a dead end: games in the Bundesliga are repeatedly interrupted because of fan protests. Hannover 96 explains that the vote on the investors was intentionally secret. And Martin Kind? He rejects the debates.
It sounds terribly technical: The registered club Hannover 96 had instructed the managing director of the spun-off professional department, Martin Kind, to vote against the investor entry into the German Football League (DFL). And yet it is a central question in the nationwide fan protests in German stadiums: Did the hearing aid billionaire feel bound to his club’s instructions? Did he really vote “no”? Or, as the evidence suggests, “yes”? That’s what NDR wanted to know from him on Thursday afternoon.
Child takes a long shot. The 79-year-old talks about formalities, such as the fact that none of the 36 shareholders objected to the secret vote beforehand. And he talks about how he was irritated that the voting behavior of other clubs became public. “Secret is secret,” said Kind. “Only I know how I voted. Everything else is speculation. That’s why I refuse to discuss this topic.” The DFL would have to decide whether to repeat the game, but he sees no reason for it. “In my opinion, everything went correctly.”
Above all, the child remains one thing: stubborn. For him, the issue that has been omnipresent since the vote in mid-December has been resolved. The deal received exactly the necessary two-thirds majority from the 36 Bundesliga clubs organized in the DFL. So Kind’s vote was decisive – that shakes the credibility of the entire vote. In addition, the parent club Hannover 96 eV apparently even warned the DFL that Child would not follow the instructions. In a statement they made serious accusations – for example that the vote was intentionally secret. In order to increase the chances that there will be a “yes” for the desired investor entry.
Not just money
The conflict at second division club Hannover 96 is an example of why tennis balls and sweets have been being thrown at German football stadiums for weeks. Why insults are chanted. Why even fans of Rasenballsport Leipzig criticize modern football. Why Martin Kind’s likeness appears in crosshairs. Why games are always on the verge of being canceled.
It has long been no longer just about the actual deal, which the 36 clubs agreed on in the secret vote. By the way, it looked like this: The investor immediately delivers around one billion euros, in return he receives eight percent from the marketing rights for the next 20 years. The money should not be wasted, but rather flow into digitalization and internationalization.
The DFL’s hope is that this will also increase marketing revenue in the long term. Fans worry that this will disrupt match days so that more games can be shown on TV. They also worry that their clubs will suddenly be financed with money from Saudi Arabia. They fear that an investor will not only give his money, but also want to have a say.
The heart of German football
All of these questions are about the core of German professional football and why the DFL is in a deep dilemma. He is hidden quite unromantically on page nine of the DFL statutes and is not even mentioned there by his common name: the 50+1 rule. No matter how big the club and how powerful the investor: in the end, the members have the say. This inevitably leads to conflicts because, to put it bluntly, the bowling department of course has different interests than the spun-off professional football corporation.
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf called the rule a guarantee “that the Bundesliga does not become a plaything for investors.” For him, it is “the guarantee for the acceptance of our sport in society”. And that’s what the question is about: why it’s important how Martin Kind voted. In accordance with the 50+1 rule, he should have voted “no”.
But how to get out of the mess? Hans-Joachim Watzke, DFL supervisory board chairman, appealed to the curves. “I would ask the fan scenes at this point not to push the point of escalation further! Our offer to talk stands, we are of course all ready to have these discussions,” said the 64-year-old in the “Bild” interview: “We all have to be aware of our responsibility for German football. If you cancel a game, you are doing massive damage to your own club.”
“You have accepted our red lines”
Watzke is a supporter of the deal; he is concerned about the international competitiveness of German clubs. Critics reply that the other leagues have been ahead for a long time and that one billion euros is not enough to catch up with England, for example. They also argue that it may be the colorful and loud fan curves that distinguish German football from football in other nations.
In the interview, Watzke also tried to allay any concerns. “Above all, we must not and will not sell ourselves to any partner!” he explained. One of the two possible investors, Blackstone, had already withdrawn from the proceedings during the week. Officially there were “various reasons”. According to reports, the fans’ diverse and vehement protests also played a role.
This leaves only one interested party. “CVC knows that there will be zero influence with us. Zero! There will be no new kick-off times or anything like that with us!” said Watzke. It is your job to reach fans all over the world. “They have accepted all of our red lines and do not want to reform our football in the slightest – we are responsible for that!”
The question is how the DFL can get out of this impasse. The number of clubs that are toying with a new vote is increasing every day. 1. FC Cologne has now also announced its proposal to vote again on investor entry. Previously closed DFL executive board member Axel Hellmann the end. Watzke at least indicated that if the feeling that there is a majority among the clubs disappears, “we will certainly not give our vote against their will.” A new situation would then arise and a new vote would also be possible.