Next chapter in Zoff between Martin Kind (78) and Hannover 96.
On Wednesday evening he was dismissed from the parent association as managing director of the professional company Hanover 96. In a short message, the bosses of the association informed about the expulsion. In a brief statement it said: “Martin Kind was dismissed as Managing Director of Hannover 96 Management GmbH with immediate effect for important reasons. The committees will decide on the new appointment of the management in a timely manner.”
Kind was personally informed in advance by eV boss Sebastian Kramer. He is said to have accepted the message calmly and has been silent since then. Late on Thursday morning, Kind reacted indirectly to a press release from the second division club.
The statement from the professional company states:
“The Supervisory Board of Hannover 96 Management GmbH, which is responsible for dismissing and appointing managing directors in accordance with the articles of association of Hannover 96 Management GmbH, has not been informed of this procedure. According to the statutes of Hannover 96 Management GmbH and the 96 contract, only this supervisory board is entitled to appoint and dismiss managing directors. The effectiveness of the resolution on the dismissal of the managing director will be legally examined.”
That means: the child takes legal action against the dismissal and threatens to sue.
In the morning the wires were burning, the responsible supervisory board of “Management GmbH” (Sebastian Kramer, Ralf Nestler, Roland Frobel and Rainer Feuerhake) phoned each other. The only topic: the child successor.
From club circles it is said that the club representatives in the four-member body – eV board member Kramer and eV supervisory board boss Nestler – continue to rely on a “consensual successor regulation” with the two shareholder representatives and child confidants. Whether that is realistic is more than doubtful.+
According to BILD information, a child successor should be there by the weekend – if necessary, an “interim solution”. The club representatives have apparently proposed several candidates (i.e. at least two) as an interim solution.
According to BILD information, Andreas Rettig (59, most recently Viktoria Cologne) is NOT there. The former DFL managing director is hotly traded on the rumor exchange: Rettig is considered THE hardliner when it comes to 50+1. The rule that Kind has been wanting to overturn for years – and is now considered the actual cause of the Boss earthquake in Hanover. Nevertheless, it could end up with Rettig as the final child successor.
For more than 20 years, hearing aid multi-kind was the sole ruler at Hannover 96. Majority shareholder, multiple managing director and eV boss – all children. In 2019 he withdrew from the club, and the fan-related group around Kramer and Nestler took over. Thanks to the 50+1 rule (guarantees the clubs the right to determine the management even in the case of outsourced professional companies), they have influence and access to the professional area – and the child has now been fired.
But it is not that easy. According to the “basic contract” between the association and the sponsors, both sides in the Management GmbH must agree on ONE managing director.
Child has the dismissal legally examined and threatens to sue.
The eV representatives see themselves in the right because they fired the child “for important reasons”. In plain language: the child is accused of “misconduct as a manager”. It is allegedly about, among other things, breach of contract and ignoring binding instructions from the club’s board of directors.
