FC Bayern: Uli Hoeneß hands out against BVB boss Watzke

Bundesliga

Ul Hoeneß polarizes again and again. During his time as Bayern manager, he regularly attacked his opponents verbally, and even today he occasionally calls in a “double pass” if he doesn’t like a discussion, and in the past few days the now 71-year-old has also joined the debate about Manuel Neuer a.

Now the ex-Bayern President has also commented on another topic that is discussed again and again, especially in German football: the “50+1” rule.

In a panel discussion in the “Neue Presse”, Hoeneß railed against the rule that prohibits investors from entering German clubs. Hoeneß received support from Hanover boss Martin Kind.

Hoeneß demands more power for Bayern

“We would be totally in favor of this regulation falling,” Hoeneß positioned himself clearly against the regulation, according to which Bundesliga clubs must hold more than 50 percent of their own shares. This puts you “totally behind internationally,” explains the ex-Bayern boss.

The American Todd Boehly helped Chelsea FC on a record-breaking shopping spree this year.Image: AP / Ian Walton

While clubs, especially in the English Premier League, can throw money around that is made available to them by wealthy investors, the Bundesliga clubs still have to generate their own budgets. “That’s why England is far ahead of us internationally,” believes Hoeneß.

FC Bayern: Hoeneß criticizes Watzke

But that’s not enough for Uli Hoeneß. He wishes for Bayern both more money and more power. “The influence of FC Bayern on German football in the DFL and DFB areas is not enough for me. It can’t be that the most important German club is so little represented,” he complains about the weight given to Bayern’s vote.

When Hoeneß was still Bayern manager, it was different: Hoeneß and Rummenigge would always have been the first points of contact for the DFL bosses. Since the change in leadership, however, the competition has exploited the modesty of the new Bayern bosses Oliver Kahn and Herbert Hainer, believes Hoeneß.

Since Oliver Kahn (left) and Herbert Hainer (right) took over, Uli Hoeneß has missed the “Attack Department”.Image: dpa / Angelika Warmuth

In the meantime, Hans-Joachim Watzke has risen to become a strong man at the DFL. “That also has to do with the fact that our people are a bit too reserved”Hoeneß complains.

At the same time, he cannot resist a point against the BVB managing director: “Watzke now has a small lead. As always in life, Dortmund is then second.”

Currently in a legal dispute with the club and DFL: Kind jumps to the side of Hoeneß

When Uli Hoeneß also accuses the BVB boss of “hypocrisy”, Hannover 96 investor Martin Kind agrees euphorically. “Mr. Watzke formulated it very differently: Borussia Dortmund is the only listed corporation in German football, 96 percent of the shares are distributed over the capital market,” says Kind. “So that’s a typical commercial enterprise. But then people talk about ’50+1′ that they themselves don’t comply with.”

BVB managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke is currently the DFL supervisory board boss and is also heard by the DFB.Image: imago / Kirchner Media

For years, Kind has fought against the “50+1” rule with a heavy hand. As early as 2011, he fought for an exception before an arbitral tribunal, according to which the “50+1” rule can be circumvented if an investor has significantly supported a club for more than 20 years.

The board of Hannover 96 recently saw off Martin Kind as managing director. However, the investor does not want to accept this.Image: dpa / Swen gatekeeper

On the basis of this exception, Hoffenheim boss Dietmar Hopp was later allowed to buy the majority of the shares in TSG. However, Kind’s own application was rejected by the DFL in 2018. He is now in legal disputes with his club as to whether he can still be managing director at all. The last decision at the Celle Higher Regional Court was in favor of the 78-year-old.