ブンデスチェアマン、出資計画撤回は「リーグにとってよくないこと」

【ベルリンＡＦＰ＝時事】サッカードイツ・ブンデスリーガが外部投資家に放映権の一部を売却する計画について、ドイツサッカーリーグ機構（ＤＦＬ）のチェアマンを務めるハンス・ヨアヒム・ヴェツケ氏は２７日、撤回したことは「リーグにとってよくないこと」だったと話した。（写真はドイツ・ブンデスリーガ１部第２２節のＶｆＬボルフスブルクとボルシア・ドルトムントの試合で、投資家参入に抗議するファン）
　ブンデスリーガを運営するＤＦＬは、必要な３分の２のクラブから賛成を得て１０億ユーロ（約１６３０億円）の投資計画を承認していたが、ファンの激しい抗議で試合が長時間中断する事態が続いていたことを大きな理由に撤回を決めた。計画では、将来のテレビ放映権を一部手放すことと引き換えに資金注入を受ける予定だったが、ファンはテニスボールからコイン型のチョコレートまで、あらゆるものをピッチに投げ込んで反対していた。
　ヴァツケ氏は報道陣に対して、ドイツのファンは「投資家をよく思っていない」とコメント。「ドイツ人は伝統を重視し、少し古風とさえ言えるかもしれない」と話し、「ドイツでは、投資家はおそらく最高の単語ではない」と続けた。
　ＤＦＬは、計画にはキックオフ時間の変更や国外での公式戦の実施といった変化から、サポーターを守る条項を盛り込むと約束していた。ヴァツケ氏は「投資家との契約には、ファンが困ることはしないという明確な線引きがあった。問題は、ファンがわれわれを信じていなかったことだ」と明かし、「実際これはドイツ社会の問題でもある。市民にアイデアを伝えると、どれも『よくない』と言われるんだ」と語った。
　また、抗議は平均的なファンの意見を反映した行動ではなかったと主張。「反対したのは全体の５パーセントで、そんなに大きな割合ではないが、彼らは組織立ったファンだ」と話し、「普通のファンは気にしていなかったが、彼らは特に意見を言わなかった」と述べた。そして、抗議によって計画を取り巻く雰囲気が変わり、各クラブが及び腰になったと明かした。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/02/28-18:06）

Bundesliga boss Hans-Joachim Watzke said Tuesday the rejection of a planned investor deal, shelved after widespread fan protests, was bad for the league.
Last week the German Football Leagues (DFL) which runs the Bundesliga abandoned a planned billion-euro investment deal, which had previously been approved by the necessary two-thirds majority of clubs, due largely to fan protests resulting in long delays at matches.
Fans had littered pitches with everything from tennis balls to chocolate coins in opposition to the plan to swap a portion of the league's future media revenues for an upfront cash injection.
DFL chairman Watzke told AFP and other journalists on Tuesday that fans in Germany have a problem with investors.
Germans are traditional, perhaps even a bit old-fashioned.
In Germany, investor is perhaps not the best word.
German football has a notable commitment to fan control and involvement via a 50+1 rule which restricts the degree of influence an external investor can have over a club.
The rule remains enduringly popular among German fans, many of whom value it more than domestic or international competitiveness.
The DFL had promised the new deal would include supporter-friendly protections against changes in kick-off times or moving competitive fixtures abroad.
Our contract with the investor had clear red lines that nothing could happen which would be a problem for the fans, but the problem was that fans didn't believe us.
It's actually a problem in German society. Every idea that you tell the public, the public says 'not good'.
Watzke said the protests did not reflect the opinion of the average fan.
Five percent of the fans -- which is not so much, but they're the organised fans -- were against it.
The average fans had no problem, but they did not tell anyone.
Maybe 500 or 800 in the stadium, the organised fans, they had a clear position -- no investor.
The 64-year-old said the protests had changed the atmosphere around the deal, with clubs getting cold feet.
As the boss of the Bundesliga, I always had the feeling that the clear majority of clubs supported it, but in the past weeks that changed.
When I recognised that the majority was not there, then I stopped it.
Watzke said the result will hit mid-table teams the hardest, rather than those at the top of the tree.
You can be sure that there's no problem for Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
It's a problem for the other clubs in the league. The money from the investor would be perfect to help the whole Bundesliga grow.
Bayern and Dortmund will make our own way if it's necessary.
Watzke is also also CEO of Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund and he was speaking on Tuesday to announce the opening of Dortmund's first office in New York, where fellow Bundesliga heavyweights Bayern Munich have had a presence for a decade.