In terms of sport, FC St. Pauli lags far behind its own standards. President Oke Göttlich does not only attribute this to the prominent departures and the upheaval last summer, but is dissatisfied with the overall development in this calendar year – and in his role as a member of the DFL Presidium in an interview with kicker, he clearly takes a stand on the handling with the 50+1 rule.
Find clear words: Oke Divine.
IMAGO/Zink
Only seven wins this year – the loss of form from the second half of the previous season has continued in Hamburg, and Göttlich sees it that way. “So far in 2022, we have remained below our potential and, regardless of personnel changes, we have to state: It is not enough for what we provide as a club, what we offer as a framework.”
The DFL has also been dealing with the topic of means and possibilities in these weeks and months, specifically: the Bundeskartellamt has asked the league to comment on how it will deal with Leverkusen, Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim in the future with regard to 50+1. “The Bundeskartellamt,” confirms Executive Committee member Göttlich, “demands that the DFL explain how the exceptional clubs – and for me there are four of them with RB Leipzig – are dealt with. So far, this has not been tackled in a way that satisfies the Bundeskartellamt. The fact is: These four clubs are system crackers. There are various questions at stake: How is member participation lived? How is there financial compensation for the financial advantage that these clubs enjoy? We now have to find a regulation quickly. At the moment there is one Distortion of competition, that’s a fact.”
The 46-year-old demands a clear stance from the DFL – also with regard to a possible investor entry. “It has not yet been proven that investors have benefited football so far.” According to the music entrepreneur, the reason for this is “that in most cases investor money has not brought anything to the infrastructure, but more money in the system primarily meant: more money for players and consultants.”
For Göttlich, it would only be “debatable if it was accompanied by a strategy debate about competitive equality and tension and not about burning further funds in the rat race with ManCity or PSG.”
Read the entire interview with the first full-time president in the history of FC St. Pauli in the current kicker Monday issue or as early as Sunday evening in the eMagazine.
