Dhe former Schalke supervisory board chairman Clemens Tönnies regrets the decision of his former club to forego his financial support. “I bow to the decision, although of course I regret it,” said the 64-year-old on Thursday of the Funke media group. It had previously been announced that the deal would not come about because the meat manufacturer’s request for a unanimous decision on the supervisory board of the Bundesliga club was not met.
“I wanted to make sure that everyone was united behind the concept of securing relegation under all circumstances,” said Tönnies. “I always stay Schalke at heart,” he said. The 64-year-old resigned from his office at FC Schalke on June 30th after several scandals. In 2019 he caused a stir with statements criticized as racist about Africans. In June there was massive criticism of the working conditions there after a corona outbreak in his meat factory.
The bottom of the table is still looking for reinforcements in attack and in the right-back position in the fight against relegation. Schalke have been without a win for 30 Bundesliga games across all seasons and could set Tasmania Berlin’s negative record against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Saturday (3:30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on Sky).
Despite the renouncement of help from Tönnies, the new supervisory board chief sees Schalke 04 still capable of acting. “Our ability to act is not restricted,” said Jens Buchta according to a message on the club’s website. In his opinion, the club is “in a sporty and economically tense situation”. Tönnies’ successor confirmed that the control committee voted on Wednesday on an offer of help from the meat manufacturer.
It was about the early extension of the sponsorship contract from Böklunder, a company of the Tönnies Group. “The supervisory board agreed with a large majority to accept the offer and enter into talks, but not with the unanimity required by Clemens Tönnies,” said Buchta. “So he withdrew his offer. I regret that. But we have to respect his decision. “
Two members of the eleven-member supervisory board, including the representative of the Schalke fan club, had spoken out against help from Tönnies. This must be respected in a democratic decision as well as Tönnies’ offer to support Schalke in the “difficult situation”, said Buchta. The board of the Revierklub must find other ways to finance the necessary reinforcements of the team. “The start of the economic and substantive negotiations would have been in the area of the management board. However, this no longer happens, ”he emphasized. “The board of directors is still required to implement planned measures at very short notice.”
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