A well-known football magazine refuses to report on RB Leipzig and justifies this decision. Nevertheless, the editors get a shit storm on Facebook.
- A well-known football magazine refuses to report on RB Leipzig in normal form.
- In the Champions League game against Atletico Madrid, the editors do without the popular live ticker.
- The magazine has long been bothered by reporting on the up-and-coming club.
Berlin - This feud has a long history. But to sum it up briefly: The German soccer magazine 11 Freunde has little or nothing to do with the “RasenballSport Leipzig” construct . Therefore, the editors do not report in the traditional way about the Bundesliga * club from the east. This is what happened in the Bulls' Champions League quarter-finals against Atletico Madrid. The magazine decided not to ticker the game live on its own homepage .
As the reason for the boycott , editor Max Dinkelaker writes in an article on August 14th: It is not the case “that we don't give a damn about the number of clicks and are financially not dependent on people reading our content. We decided against it - once again - because we don't want to normalize the RB Leipzig * construct any further. Which is why we have always been, even independent of the Live Ticker still on, either in printed magazine 11FREUNDE .com in the traditional sense on Leipzig report. "
RB Leipzig boycott: Football magazine does not want to report on "special" Ostverein
The live ticker of the magazine is one of the most popular among football fans. He was also awarded the Grimme Online Award, among others. The reasoning states: "Whether Bundesliga * or Champions League *: The 11-Freunde editorial team tickers with humor and accompanies the games with a diverse - not always sporting - themed repertoire." And that is exactly what all Leipzig fans have had to do without for a long time .
In December 2016, the magazine ticked an RB game for the last time. Namely the top game against FC Bayern * at the time. At that time under the assumption "that most people realize that RB is not just any normal Bundesliga team * and this top game would not be any normal top game", as Dinkelaker writes in his article. This assumption is said to have been wrong. For example, the 11-Freunde author criticizes a “change in the media's mood”, such as that of the Süddeutsche Zeitung or Die Welt, which would not report in sufficient detail about Leipzig.
Feud with Bundesliga club: Football magazine does without RB Leipzig reporting
The allegations are not new. The “RB Leipzig” project divides the fan scene. One half thinks what is happening in Saxony is good, the other half suspect the gravedigger of football behind the Red Bull- financed club. Right from the start, the 11-Freunde editorial team sided with the traditionalists: “It's about [...] that RB Leipzig is a pure marketing project. Created solely to strengthen the Red Bull brand. RB Leipzig is not a football club, RB Leipzig is an imitation. "
On Facebook, the clear edge shows well with some users. Nevertheless, there is a shit storm for the magazine. One criticizes: “Trending and hypocritical! Clicks don't matter? It is not reported? Then what is this article please? Exactly, reporting! ”Another writes:“ Gentlemen, that is hard to beat in terms of ridiculousness. In case you still haven't noticed: football and the whole marketing-player advisor-PR fuss has been completely screwed for many, many years, it doesn't need a construct like RB . "
RB Leipzig and 11 friends - football magazine boycotted Leipzig games
Again and again the authors are accused of double standards for reporting on "commercial associations" such as Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain. “I am really embarrassed when I read this article. You shouldn't write a line about football games if you don't want to support commercialization ”or:“ You fill entire pages about clubs like ManCity, Real Madrid, PSG etc, but are you still upset about RB Leipzig ? Ridiculous double moralists ”can be read in the comment columns.
Facebook comments on the 11 friends boycott of RB Leipzig
© Screenshot Facebook
On Tuesday evening (August 18) at 9 p.m., RB Leipzig will play in the Champions League semi-final against PSG. For the first time, the Bulls are in a European Cup semi-final. 11 Freunde will do without their popular ticker this time as well. They remain true to themselves and will continue to boycott the club. Or to put it in the words of editor Max Dinkelaker: “ Red Bull didn't just want to 'advance' the club. Red Bull gave birth to this club. "