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"Football does damage to its image"

2020-05-02T06:56:32.633Z


The Bundesliga is about to resume in May, insofar as it has the green light from the Bundesliga. For the deputy SPD chairman Kevin Kühnert, this is not communicable. 


The Bundesliga is about to resume in May, insofar as it has the green light from the Bundesliga. For the deputy SPD chairman Kevin Kühnert, this is not communicable. 

Munich - The decision is adjourned. The next conference of Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Prime Ministers will take place on May 6. Then it could also be decided whether and when the Bundesliga would resume operations. Prime Ministers Armin Laschet and Markus Söder have spoken out in favor of continuing the season, and the Ministry of Labor has also given the green light. For Kevin Kühnert (30), games in the Bundesliga cannot be arranged in the current phase. In an interview with our newspaper, the federal chairman of the Jusos and deputy chairman of the SPD spoke about the discussions about football, personal fan experiences and the promotion of sport among women.

Kevin Kühnert, the Bundesliga is about to resume in mid or late May - provided politicians give it the green light. How do you feel about it?

As a fan, I have to say: Of course I miss football too. However, I do not consider this decision to be communicable. Football is doing considerable damage to its image, presumably more than the pandemic does. Society is suffering from the corona crisis and is struggling with the consequences and ramifications. In such a phase, professional football wants to start playing again - this has an immense negative symbolic power. Thousands of corona tests for the players, while not even the medical personnel are continuously tested, as well as duels and packs in times of distance orders, that will backfire with sighted eyes.

In addition to the economic factors, the arguments for continuing the season were often aimed at restoring normality and quality of life to people.

The joy of ghost games is only a dim one, and most will quickly exhaust them. The idea that a team will be champions and that the cheers will fade away in the silence of the empty stadium - that has nothing to do with what you love as a fan. The increase in quality of life bears no relation to the signal effect already mentioned. I am of course aware that the Bundesliga is a huge employer and that economic factors play a major role.

But?

But I lacked the signal that football, in alliance with the public, is putting pressure on rights holders. There was little discussion about how an orderly end to the season could be handled. Instead, it was tried from the beginning to box through the sequel, no matter what. This has put the right holders in a good negotiating position. For example, I could have imagined that the clubs would now be paid the agreed funds for the season and that they would have TV money deductions in the coming seasons to make up for it in tolerable snacks. In general, I'm afraid that the gradual estrangement of fans from the football system, which has latently played a major role in recent years, is now becoming even greater.

What is bothering you as a football fan in the Bundesliga?

It has become very sterile. For example, choreographies and theme days are regularly organized by the clubs and no longer by the fans. In addition, the associations often shot themselves in the knee due to excessive restrictions on the fans. One example of many is the collective punishment against spectators, which has recently been seen more often - in my opinion, these are cannon strikes against sparrows. With some players and those in charge, you also notice a sinking identification with the club. Players are also increasingly acting as managers of their own careers, who then change companies every two years. Correct loyalty to the club and passion are rare.

You have a season ticket with Arminia Bielefeld. Is soccer in the 2nd Bundesliga even more passion and less business?

Of course, I can only speak for myself and my own experiences as a fan. I've been keeping my fingers crossed for FC Bayern since I was a child. The game days there are often a tiring routine. There is a program around the game that has to be rewound, and the sporting itself is done rather routinely. At the Bielefeld games, the collective march to the stadium is an experience. Most fans walk to the “Alm”, you can look forward to the game together and you can already feel this euphoria: Immediately I stand in the curve and sing my team ahead with tens of thousands of people. In Bielefeld, many fans meet at the "Siggi" before the games and there is a pensioner who sells beer from his garage. Those are the stories you love about football.

When playing ghost games, you can clearly feel how important the fans are to the sport. Have the curves received too little appreciation from the associations and clubs in recent years?

I often lacked the right feeling from the DFB or the league for the fans. People are still talking too often about instead of with the fans and the talk of the so-called "fans" after each ignited Bengalo has become a tiring ritual. Football in Germany also works through a vital fan culture. In many places, curves also understand themselves as a community of values ​​with a social responsibility. They are committed to society and position themselves politically.

Her heart beats for a club with a clear political stance.

Tennis Borussia, my favorite local club in Berlin, is an association with a strong Jewish tradition. Among other things, Hans Rosenthal was long president of the association. The fan scene was often insulted and had to face hostility. However, we did not mob back, but instead launched campaigns against homophobia or anti-Semitism. So we made an image of the abuse. I can identify well with that. This also represents the great creativity and passion in many corners. In the end, everyone is simply looking forward to being able to switch off for a few hours at the weekend. Even if things weren't going so well during the week and you're in a bad mood, you can still look forward to the game on the weekend.

As a groundhopper you see quite a few of these games.

I am lucky that my diary is full, but I can put it together very independently. For example, if Bielefeld has an away game in Lower Saxony, I try to make an appointment there and can also watch the game. But I also watch a lot of games in amateur sports, it doesn't always have to be the professional area.

As a politician, you are used to long working days and endless, probably nerve-wracking discussions. Is attending a soccer game in the district league then the necessary mental relaxation?

That's it. Nobody goes to a seventh league game to watch top-class and tactically demanding football. It's more about the atmosphere - the whole place meets on Sundays at the sports field. It is a mixture of many different people that fascinates the same hobby. With a beer and a bratwurst you can forget many worries for two hours. And if the team you were cheering for loses, then at least it's not about existence. I don't just take football games with me, I also watch ice hockey, volleyball or handball live.

In the current discussions, the smaller sports are once again overshadowed by king football. What can politics do so that sports that do not have the same economic power as football have a greater influence?

Of course, attention cannot be called for. And there is not only a big discrepancy between the individual sports, but also between sports for men and sports for women. Politics is always about symbols. If more and more politicians not only attend games of the men's national team, but also of the women's national team, that would have a strong signal effect. The current example from handball shows the differences again: Kiel is declared a champion for men despite the canceled season, but the championship is denied to the Dortmund women. Of course, this raises the suspicion that the gray cells are being strained more when it comes to larger sums of money, and that the many men at the top of the association are more likely to have an eye on men's sport, often unconsciously. I see the whole problem clearly in my local politics. Anyone who, like men's football, has existed since prehistoric times relies on traditional training times and areas. Women's football, which was only legalized 50 years ago, as well as younger sports then argue about the lack of leftovers. Missing sports areas are currently a brake on engagement for clubs that want to expand their profile and become more diverse. This has to change urgently, and that's what I work for.

Interview: Nico-Marius Schmitz

Source: merkur

All sports articles on 2020-05-02

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