Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, boss of FC Bayern Munich, speaks in an interview with tz about the resumption of the Bundesliga and the corona crisis as an opportunity for a change.
- Bayern Munich : Karl-Heinz Rummenigge speaks in the tz interview about the Bundesliga in the Corona crisis - and the consequences for professional football.
- The record champions' board boss calls for a realignment of the transfer market after the coronavirus pandemic and at least does not rule out a cap on player salaries.
- Rummenigge warns: " Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich would probably survive, but many ..."
Munich - The Bundesliga has done its homework, the view goes to Berlin on Thursday. When Chancellor Angela Merkel talks to the Prime Minister about the next steps in the corona crisis, the topic of “resuming gaming *” is also on the agenda. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge sees ghost games as "without alternative", as the CEO of FC Bayern Munich reveals in an interview.
Mr. Rummenigge, do you hope for May 9th?
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: That's not a "wish you something". I don't know if a decision is made. We do not want to put pressure on this, but exercise patience.
Bundesliga despite Corona? Rummenigge gives hope - and quotes Söder
The signals are positive.
Rummenigge: Of course we were pleased with the signals from the Ministry of Labor. But one must also say that the concept of the DFL fulfills all legal medical requirements of politics. You can only compliment the management of the DFL and the Medicine Task Force! We do not want a special role, but professional football is a profession - and we want to ensure that this profession can be carried out again in compliance with certain regulations.
# FCBayern boss #Rummenigge explains in an interview with @tzmuenchen & @MerkurStadt that a start of the #Bundesliga would have a worldwide signal effect: "If we restart league operations, it would also be a sign of Germany to the world that our policy is working very well . "
- Manuel Bonke (@mano_bonke) April 29, 2020Would it be a start on probation?
Rummenigge: Of course, football has to prove from game to game that we are exemplary and disciplined with the guidelines. Politicians have rightly placed this requirement on football. We want and will live up to our responsibility.
Is football too political for you at the moment?
Rummenigge: We have probably the biggest crisis since the Second World War, and it is clear that the emotional issue of football sometimes expresses conflicting and polarizing opinions. But football can send an important signal. For everyone in our country. I can quote the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder here: A weekend with football is better than a weekend without. Football can once again provide a piece of normalcy that people need so badly.
FC Bayern: For Rummenigge, ghost games in the Bundesliga have no alternative
What do you counter critics who speak of a “special role” of football?
Rummenigge: It was clear to us from the start when we decided to work out the concept with politicians and medical experts that there was more than just applause. Football has to endure one or the other criticism. We have to convince our critics that football is serious about the corona virus.
Numerous fan groups have also expressed their displeasure with ghost games. How is the exchange of FC Bayern with the supporters?
Rummenigge: On Tuesday we had a virtual video conference with the fan dialogue working group, which is made up of all geographic regions. And as a mood picture, I can convey that the vast majority of this working group has made it clear that games without spectators * are not optimal, but without alternatives. The aim is to ensure that the ball rolls again so that the Bundesliga as a whole survives. It is in all of our interests.
"We don't want to be champions at the green table": Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
© dpa
What would happen if the season ended?
Rummenigge: Then we have two problems. Firstly, the athletic evaluation, which did not take place. You can see what kind of discussions are currently taking place in Holland, where the league was stopped. There are already complaints against the association. The most important thing is that there is a decision on the court - and not at the green table. The fans see it like me: FC Bayern do not want to be champions at the green table.
Rummenigge: "Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich would survive"
The word "Corona Master" will not be avoided.
Rummenigge: We still don't want our captain to be given the bowl because we're at the top of the table after matchday 25. We want to get the championship trophy if we should be at the top after matchday 34 because then we would have earned it.
Bayern would also survive if the season ended.
Rummenigge: Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich would probably survive, but many other clubs would not. What I particularly like in this crisis is that clubs like Leipzig, Dortmund, Leverkusen and Bavaria are particularly committed to resuming the game in order to simply support the small and medium-sized clubs *. We want the Bundesliga - the bread and butter business - to remain in its current form.
Bayern: Rummenigge is worried about Coutinho, Perisic and Odriozola
Some ultra groups are still against ghost games.
Rummenigge: Games without spectators are of course not optimal, but unfortunately there is no alternative. With this attitude, one achieves that some traditional clubs would not survive. And that's the opposite of what different fan groups are working for: the tradition in football.
Friends: BVB managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke (left) and Bayern boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
© dpa / Roland Frankincense
Do you think of it like Hans-Joachim Watzke, who said: Every week later is a risk?
Rummenigge: The DFL's goal is to end the season by the end of June. There are also contractual reasons for this. We also have three players whose loan contracts expire on June 30 (Philippe Coutinho, Ivan Perisic, Alvaro Odriozola / d. Red. ), And it is still unclear under labor law how to proceed in these cases. May we use these players for the League or Champions League in July?
A decision about the Champions League is still pending.
Rummenigge: Because the prerequisite for the Champions League is that the national leagues are only played to the end. It is not yet known when this will be the case.
Ghost games in the Allianz Arena: Rummenigge appeals to Bayern ultras
In Germany, fans are particularly critical of the test capacities required for football.
Rummenigge: The DFL has seriously demonstrated that there are no corona test undercapacities. On the contrary. We will not test the population. Our statement is clear! We test to ensure that players are free of infection. In addition, the league finances all of this itself, and it also provides test capacities for third parties.
Another point of criticism: fan gatherings. The fans see themselves under general suspicion.
Rummenigge: We don't want that! We don't want to criminalize them, just call on them to stay at home if we get permission to play. I am 100 percent convinced that not a single fan will come to the Allianz Arena when we play there again. They will cheer up in front of the TV sets and hope that they will win FC Bayern.
Everyone is talking about football.
Rummenigge: But I can tell you quite honestly: Only through the steadfast hand of politics and through the decisions taken so far, is this resumption - if it comes - at all possible. If we resume league operations, it would also be a sign from Germany to the world that our policy is working very well. I have received an unbelievable number of calls from Italy, England and Spain * in the last few days asking how it is possible that we can even train.
Aki Watzke spoke of a "quality certificate of German politics".
Rummenigge: And I say: It would be a revival of "made in Germany".
Bayern: Rummenigge does not rule out an upper limit for player salaries
Nevertheless, the question arises, why does an industry with so much money have to tremble in such a short time?
Rummenigge: When this crisis is over, we are obliged to deal seriously with turning certain things back with a sense of proportion. But also for this - I say purposefully - we will need not only German but also European politics. In 2008 and 2009 I was in Brussels seven or eight times with Messrs. Platini and Infantino to discuss a European salary cap with the EU Commission. Every time we tried, we were told that this could not be reconciled with European competition law. Unfortunately.
After all, you have enforced financial fair play.
Rummenigge: But this is a sword that is not nearly as sharp as a salary cap. Don't get me wrong: I don't want American conditions, and I don't think they are good either. Our sports culture needs relegation and advancement, a real competition. Nevertheless, after this crisis we have to deal with the question of what we can do to make football more rational and stable.
Rummenigge: Corona crisis as an opportunity for the transfer market
Do you mean specifically the transfer market?
Rummenigge: No club is interested in the fact that transfer fees and salaries * go up every year. We want to drive with a sense of proportion. Every crisis also has an opportunity.
So you are calling for “Back to the roots”?
Rummenigge: To date, it has been a rat race for the best players in the world. We have to try to normalize certain excesses. Football players have always been highly paid compared to normal workers, but what has happened in the past ten years in particular has led to unhealthy developments. In other countries that was even more dramatic than here.
Interview: Hanna Raif
* tz.de is an offer from the nationwide Ippen Digital editors network
