Rand five weeks before his departure as DFL managing director, Christian Seifert criticized the external presentation of top politics in the Corona crisis. “In Germany I occasionally had the impression that the prime ministerial conferences often dealt with the headlines for the subsequent press conferences,” said the 52-year-old in an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung (Saturday).
“Here and there you couldn’t get rid of the feeling that professional football is also used by individuals to get into the media or to distract attention from other things,” added the official. The Prime Ministers Markus Söder (Bavaria / CSU) and Hendrik Wüst (North Rhine-Westphalia / CDU) had recently – in view of the sharply rising Corona numbers in Germany – talked about mandatory impositions for Bundesliga professionals.
Not pressing problems?
Seifert stated that of more than 1,000 German contract players, “as of mid-November” 86 were not vaccinated. “In view of the sometimes more than 70,000 new infections every day, I am now wondering whether there are more pressing problems in the country than 86 unvaccinated footballers,” said Seifert, who nevertheless appealed to footballers and society to get vaccinated. National player Joshua Kimmich, who is also unvaccinated, recently caused major debates. This week it became known that the Bayern star was infected with the corona virus.
When asked whether football professionals should send a signal with the vaccination, Seifert replied. “In my opinion, since the beginning of the corona pandemic, there has always been too much about signs and too little about the real problems and possible solutions.”
To this day, there is no compulsory vaccination for teachers or in medicine, “but now the officials in the health and labor ministries should deal with drafting a law for 86 people?” January 2022 to successor Donata Hopfen.
“Many wanted to see us fail”
Seifert remembered the spring of 2020, when the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 were allowed to play again early after the start of the pandemic with a detailed hygiene concept. When asked that there had been no reaction from other German associations, only complaints about the privileges of football, Seifert replied somewhat evasively: “Let me put it this way: I didn’t get the impression that there were very many people in Germany who Fingers crossed. Many wanted to see us fail. “They learned:” No measure by the DFL or the clubs is as powerful as the photo of the golden steak. “
Nine game days in special games without spectators had to be completed at that time. In the end, Seifert presented FC Bayern with the championship trophy in Wolfsburg. “That was spooky, I heard myself during my little speech, and I didn’t know the feeling that nobody shouted ‘Scheiß DFL’ either,” said the DFL boss. Seifert said of the same evening: “I checked in at the hotel and there was exactly one beer in the minibar. Otherwise it was completely empty. So I thought: This is how the corona season ends. “
“I think in the end Boris Johnson stopped the Super League”
On the subject of the European Super League, he said: “It was very close. I think Boris Johnson ultimately stopped the Super League by making a clear statement to the English clubs – to save the Premier League. Their withdrawal was decisive for the failure, “said the 52-year-old. According to his own statement, the functionary finds the idea “even understandable, but in reality wrong and not well thought out”. In April twelve top European clubs had been working on the creation of such a new league.
Germany’s top clubs Bavaria and Dortmund were not involved. “For the time being, the issue has been dealt with, and I think it will stay that way for the next few years. But from a legal point of view, it is not clear whether such a league can simply be banned, ”said Seifert. The league boss, who was leaving at the end of the year, made it clear that after it became known in the spring, the company “positioned itself very quickly and clearly.” “That was actually a strange situation.”
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