Formerly celebrated in Mainz, today mocked by fans as “Don Heidel”: FSV boss Christian
Photo: image/Eßling
The football world is full of contrasts. And conflicts have always been resolved here in very different ways. But the contrasts were rarely as stark as on Saturday in Mainz. First, around 100 masked fans of FSV Mainz 05 and FC Augsburg met up in the Neustadt for a mass brawl, before both fan camps later appeared united in the arena to protest against the German Football League (DFL) investor deal. The home and away fans were perfectly coordinated to put up posters, throw tennis balls onto the court and interrupt the game, which the Mainz team ultimately won 1-0, for a while, as is currently the case. Accompanied by a changing song of abuse against the league association.
What is new is that the German Football Association (DFB) is also publicly putting pressure on the DFL to repeat the vote on the billion-dollar plan with the only remaining bidder, CVC. DFB managing director Andreas Rettig accused Lerchenberg in Mainz of having delayed the problem for too long in the ZDF sports studio. »The vote raises questions. I can understand that the fan is excited.” The former DFL manager spoke about the voting behavior of Hannover 96, where majority shareholder Martin Kind is said to have ignored the parent club’s authority to issue instructions with his decisive vote for the necessary two-thirds majority. “If Martin Kind did not follow the instructions, that is a violation of 50 plus 1. That shakes the foundations,” criticized Rettig. “That should have been sanctioned.” His criticism of the DFL: “Leaving it open for so long and not coming to a solution was not good.”
Before Rettig, DFB President Bernd Neuendorf had also reprimanded the league association. The fact that the confrontation line now runs along the DFL and DFB makes it dangerous for professional operations. It is still completely unclear how much the responsible DFB will use to sanction disruptions involving chocolate balls, tennis balls or, more recently, remote-controlled cars. A lot of money could be raised, because the wave of protests is unlikely to subside for the time being.
It seems that the discontent at the grassroots level can no longer be ignored. Now FC Schalke 04 and Darmstadt 98 have joined those clubs that are calling for a new vote. Specifically, 1. FC Cologne announced exactly this step through its managing director Christian Keller. The project serves to “free the DFL executive committee from the final mandate” and leave the decision to the clubs to conclude a negotiated contract. According to the DFL statutes, the executive committee is obliged to call an extraordinary general meeting if at least ten clubs submit applications for this.
The DFL managing directors Steffen Merkel and Marc Lenz see themselves in a “communicative dilemma”. After detailed information, the answer was always: “It’s too complicated.” If the whole thing were written on a beer mat, “we would be told that we are not providing the right information,” they both recently complained. The young league makers feel that the trouble must be on the home stretch if it is not to cause lasting damage to the product. The first game abandonment in the long history of the Bundesliga seems only a matter of time. And: The dissatisfaction has long since spread to the actual main actors.
“The fans are the soul of the game – without question,” said Fürth coach Alexander Zorniger, before qualifying: “But they are not the heart of the game.” For Dortmund national player Niclas Füllkrug, the situation is no longer acceptable: “There has to be one Give a solution – it can’t go on like this.” Mainz board member Christian Heidel dislikes the self-righteousness with which the Ultras in particular reject all offers of talks: “The problem is, and I think that’s a real shame, that people don’t listen to other opinions enough .”
For Heidel it is clear: “We have to invest, but we don’t have the money. We are a small club and depend on more than 50 percent of the TV money. At some point we all have to turn our heads and talk to each other.” If the club were to give up seven or eight million euros of media revenue in order to make start-up investments themselves, “then it won’t just be tight here, it will be extremely tight.” He can easily live with blatant denigration from fans as “Don Heidel,” said the Mainz native, who always claims to have had the same experience at fan meetings or Christmas parties: when he can explain things, suddenly “everyone is for it.” Heidel observes “a test of strength,” but the Mainz leadership will not change its attitude. Nevertheless, the issue must be ended urgently, otherwise football will be ruined.
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