Borussia Dortmund threatens Gerhard Schröder with withdrawal of honorary membership
“Should Gerhard Schröder continue to hold on to his positions, we as BV. Borussia 09 eV Dortmund would not accept it and would make a decision accordingly,” the club told the WELT news channel.
Former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (77) is an honorary member of Borussia Dortmund. This may soon change following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Bundesliga soccer club takes a very clear position on request.
Borussia Dortmund calls on Gerhard Schröder to resign his posts in the course of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Otherwise, the club will withdraw honorary membership from the former chancellor.
Schröder (77) has been in the service of Russian state-owned companies for years, he is the head of the supervisory board at the oil company Rosneft, holds a position at Nord Stream and is also set to become a member of the supervisory board at the Gazprom group.
On request, BVB made it clear: “First of all, it is important for us to emphasize that BV. Borussia 09 eV Dortmund considers Russia’s war of aggression against the Ukraine to be a blatant violation of applicable international law. The BVB family deeply condemns this shameful aggression. During his political work as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, we got to know Gerhard Schröder as a courageous, combative democrat who defended his liberal world view even against resistance. We like to remember this Gerhard Schröder and hope that this Gerhard Schröder not only has a past, but also a future.”
BVB is looking for a personal conversation
It goes on to say: “In our opinion, in a situation in which innocent people are dying from bombs every single day, not only an oral commitment against any act of war (this was made by Gerhard Schröder) is mandatory, but also the clear will and the conviction to Having to forego management positions in Russian state-owned companies. We sincerely hope that Gerhard Schröder will come to this conclusion and would like to give him the opportunity to do so. Of course, in the person of our President Dr. Reinhard Rauball are looking for a personal conversation with him.”
At the end it says: “Should Gerhard Schröder continue to hold on to said positions, we as BV. Borussia 09 eV Dortmund would not accept it and would make a corresponding decision.”
Schröder once asserted that Putin was a “flawless democrat” who was accused of an “alleged Russian threat”.
Chancellor Gerhard Schröder with a Dortmund scarf in the stands
Source: pa/dpa/dpaweb/Achim Scheidemann
However, BVB does not only want to deal with honorary member Schröder, but also want to actively help: “Borussia Dortmund is concentrating its strength these days on pragmatic, direct, economic and medical aid in the Ukraine. Together with the entire BVB family, we will start an action that will help the suffering population in Ukraine directly. We, as democrats who condemn the Russian war of aggression, see ourselves as having a clear responsibility here.”
