Sponsor hires security
BVB fans mock the insurance boss in the stadium dispute
04/22/2023, 11:35 am
Before the important Bundesliga game against Frankfurt, all of Dortmund is in turmoil. Not only because BVB is still reaching for the first championship since 2012. No, a bizarre argument about the name of the stadium is also moving the city. A sponsor hires security, the fans stay creative.
Home game in Dortmund. It is still unclear where Borussia Dortmund’s game will be played. In the Westfalenstadion or in the Signal Iduna Park. A huge argument broke out between the fans and the insurance company about exactly this question this week, triggered by the CEO of Signal Iduna, Ulrich Leitermann. A banner in front of the insurance center was already fixed early on Saturday: The Bundesliga game against Eintracht Frankfurt will therefore take place in the Westfalenstadion.
“Own goal of the year” said the banner with the words “Forever Westfalenstadion”, which hung in a soccer goal on a meadow in front of the insurance center for a short time. The banner was soon removed and replaced by the poster originally placed there, “You have the eagle on your chest, but we have the South behind you”. Nothing is known about the originators of the action.
As the local radio station Radio 91.2 reported, the insurance company, which has its headquarters near the Dortmund stadium, had already commissioned a security service on Thursday to protect the Signal Iduna building. It was just a precautionary measure, it said. There was no concrete threat against the group. According to the current state of investigation, the banner in front of the headquarters has no criminal relevance, a spokesman for the Dortmund police explained to ntv.de. However, one is sensitized to the further course of the day.
Will there be more promotions for the evening game?
In a remarkable interview with the local newspaper “Ruhr Nachrichten”, insurance boss Leitermann criticized the fans of Borussia Dortmund for a choreography before the game against Union Berlin that received worldwide attention. As every year, the official opening of the Dortmund stadium named Westfalenstadion on April 2, 1974 commemorated them. Even if the rights to the name have belonged to Signal Iduna since 2005, the old name is still used.
Leitermann described the choreography as a “violent setback” for the insurance company and was unforgiving. His statements caused astonishment not only among BVB fans, but also in almost all media throughout Germany. Fan culture researcher Harald Lange jumped to the side of the fans in the “Rheinische Post”. “They made a clear statement for the stadium name. That’s understandable for me from a fan culture point of view,” he said of the choreography.
Until 2031, Signal Iduna will at least be the namesake for the Dortmund stadium, which will no longer be called the Westfalenstadion. In addition, the insurance company has a stake of around six percent in the KGaA of Borussia and is therefore one of the major sponsors of the Bundesliga club. For the time being, however, the fronts between the company and the fans of BVB have hardened. The BVB fans on the Dortmund south stand are expected to respond to Leitermann’s statements during the game against Eintracht Frankfurt. The name Westfalenstadion should play a big role.