Another club from the Bundesliga, 1. FC Cologne, has called for a new vote on investor entry into the DFL.
In a letter to the DFL executive committee, a copy of which was sent to all DFL clubs and is available to the Sportschau, the management of 1. FC Köln wrote in view of the close vote that the “decision made for a negotiation and final mandate of the “The DFL Presidium stands on a very fragile foundation”. With regard to Martin Kind’s controversial role as managing director of Hannover 96, there is a suspicion that “there has been a violation of the 50+1 rule”. The people of Cologne are calling for the “establishment of legal certainty and acceptance” for working with an investor.
To this end, the FC announced in the letter to the DFL leadership that it would “send them a formal application in a timely manner in order to exempt the DFL executive board from the final mandate issued by the general meeting.” The decision should go back to the 36 DFL clubs. If this application requires the calling of an extraordinary general meeting, 1. FC Köln will also request this, the letter states.
Cologne: Decision must be undisputed and not supported by a legal opinion
The DFL contradicts this suspicion – also with two legal opinions, the content of which 1. FC Cologne says it is not aware of in the letter. The DFL announced in December that all people voting were authorized to represent their respective clubs at the time of the vote. The decision was therefore “effective and lawful”.
But “regardless of this, 1. FC Cologne takes the position that one of the most far-reaching decisions ever for German professional football, with a commitment period of up to 20 years, must not be legitimized with the help of legal expert assessments and reports, but rather on the basis of an undisputed decision.” . According to their own statements, 1. FC Cologne voted “no” in December.
More and more clubs are calling for new coordination
Several other club representatives had previously called for a new vote. Claus Vogt, President of VfB Stuttgart, promoted this. Clubs like Hansa Rostock and Karlsruher SC also spoke out in favor – all three clubs said they voted “yes”. Union Berlin, Eintracht Braunschweig and Hertha BSC are three of the clubs that made their rejection public. VfL Osnabrück, which had announced an abstention, also spoke out in favor of a new vote.
There is by no means agreement on this issue. Eintracht Frankfurt’s board spokesman Axel Hellmann, who is also a member of the DFL executive committee contacted by 1. FC Cologne, rejected a new vote. Several other clubs also see it that way. “We currently see no reason to follow one democratic vote with another,” said Borussia Dortmund in response to a query from the magazine “11 Freunde”, which surveyed all 36 clubs. According to the report, Mainz 05, SC Paderborn, RB Leipzig and 1. FC Heidenheim also see no need for further coordination.
2024-02-15 18:30:18
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