Greed, power, discrimination: How the DFB is caught up by its past

football column

harald long

In his weekly column, fan researcher Harald Lange writes exclusively on watson about the things that are currently moving football in Germany.

For the German Football Association, the start of 2023 can be summed up in a media-effective but very unfortunate formula. The headlines about the DFB leadership in recent days have revolved around the shabby basic concepts of modern football: greed, power and discrimination.

The former referee and TV expert Manuel Gräfe sued the association for age discrimination and was right this week. The judge at the Frankfurt district court found that the DFB violated the anti-discrimination law in this matter and even awarded the former top referee substantial compensation for pain and suffering in the amount of 48,500 euros.

Now the association has to review its statutes and look for new ways of selecting personnel in order to get rid of the stigma of discrimination.

Almost at the same time, the tax authorities discovered such serious errors in their investigations into perimeter advertising by the DFB that they retroactively revoked the non-profit status of the association for the years 2014 and 2015. Therefore, penalties and additional tax payments of 30 million euros are now threatened.

Money in the formerly rich sports association is running out, which is why DFB treasurer Stephan Grunwald is even warning of a structural budget deficit this week.

DFB task force irritated with future vision

So if savings have to be made in the near future, then the base of German football will feel it. The behavior of the top functionaries and the powerful will hardly be impressed by cash-strapped coffers, because the costly power games in the executive floor continue unmolested and energetically. The reorganization after the Bierhoff era costs money. Severance pay for the old staff and fees, bonuses and salaries for the new men in the top positions around the men’s national team.

Fan researcher Harald LangeImage: University of Würzburg

The task force of the mighty Bundesliga greats established their people in the new posts. The decisions made in a hurry are regularly publicized so that the facts are established before the members of the Executive Committee and committees of the DFB can deal with them.

In the case of the new sporting director Rudi Völler, Hans Joachim Watzke really celebrated himself in his role as a powerful football boss, by telling the public how future issues will be regulated at DFB. From the gut and in a chummy atmosphere: “Rudi, that would actually be something for you”. So Watzke initiated Völler’s commitment “from the hip”.

All that was left for the president was a dutiful approval and the DFB presidium has long since become accustomed to the role of those who only have to nod off such solo efforts for formal reasons.

DFB austerity course will make a bow around the executive floor

After all, they are paid handsomely for this and receive so-called expense allowances, which can amount to up to 250,000 euros per year for the honorary President. Lush and far from what we expect of volunteering.

The German pension insurance also sees it that way, because their reports have led to that the public prosecutor’s office is now investigating former DFB bosses on “suspicion of withholding wages”. That is violent, because the DFB is accused of not having paid social security contributions. Expense allowances for voluntary work are generally exempt from this. However, the payouts at the top of the DFB are more reminiscent of lavish manager remuneration than a flat rate for a trainer.

The false start of the first few weeks of the new year will affect the mood at the grassroots level. That’s why we need a clear edge and transparent clarification here as well. I would like to know whether and how our top officials relate to the three core concepts of greed, power and discrimination.

Are you giving us new excuses? Are you setting up a new task force? Are you hiring a new consulting firm? Or do you dare to make an honest new start in which the values ​​of volunteering and non-profit are the focus?