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1. FC Köln has stopped its planned engagement in Chinese football. "We have decided not to do this project in the current sporting situation," said President Werner Wolf to the "Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger". "It has to do with pooling resources and setting priorities." The Cologne team are second to last in the Bundesliga and are fighting with the new coach Markus Gisdol against relegation to the second division.
However, the sporting situation is only one aspect. Stefan Müller-Römer, chairman of the FC member council and, after the retirement of former president Werner Spinner, worked for a short time on the club's executive board, commented the Cologne waiver quite differently:
"I understand that the Federal Republic of Germany cannot get past China's economic power completely and that there is an exchange," said Müller-Römer in the "Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger". "But we don't need China in sports. Rather, China wants to extract knowledge from us, which has been possible in the economy for over 20 years, because some of our economic leaders are completely naive."
Henning Kaiser / DPA
Stefan Müller-Römer does not want to be active with the FC in China
The planned commitment of the people of Cologne should be part of an agreement that was concluded between the German and Chinese governments in November 2016 and is valid until 2021, which should primarily be based on a transfer of knowledge.
Chinese talents in the Shenjang region were to be trained along the lines of the Cologne academy of young people, and the Bundesliga club was to take on the sporting direction. President Xi Jingping wants to lead Chinese football to the top of the world. If successful, the FC would have received grants of almost two million euros, the club now waives this income.
According to Müller-Römer, "massive violations of human rights" are being carried out in China. There, "a total surveillance state is being built up that George Orwell could not have imagined worse," said the lawyer to the city gazette. "That's why I think that a club like 1. FC Köln shouldn't be active there."
Mesut Özil caused a sensation with similar allegations a few days ago. After the critical statement of the former German international in the service of the English club FC Arsenal to suppress the Uighurs, Chinese state television had canceled the broadcast of the top game between Arsenal and Manchester City from the program.