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VfB President Claus Vogt
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Tom Weller / dpa
Incumbent Claus Vogt is surprisingly approved as the only candidate for the presidential elections of VfB Stuttgart.
The association advisory board of the Bundesliga soccer team announced this decision on Sunday evening.
Actually, two candidates for the presidency should have been nominated for the election, which is to take place on March 28 as an online event.
"However, from among the eligible persons with a majority, there was no willingness to run against the incumbent," announced the association's advisory board.
The sole nomination of Vogt also means that the entrepreneur Volker Zeh will not be admitted as a further applicant for the office of president.
Shortly before New Year's Eve, CEO Thomas Hitzlsperger had announced his candidacy, but he has since withdrawn it.
The ex-national player had originally criticized Vogt in an open letter.
Among other things, he accused him of massive errors in dealing with the data affair, in the course of which club employees reportedly passed member data on to third parties a few years ago.
Vogt had commissioned an external law firm to clarify what, according to Hitzlsperger, had led to "escalating costs".
At the end of January, however, Hitzlsperger surprisingly announced his withdrawal from the candidacy.
"I do this out of responsibility towards our association and towards my employees," said Hitzlsperger in a video statement.
“We need rest in the club again.
With my decision I want to do my part. "
At the same time, the VfB's political crisis has resulted in changes in the association's advisory board.
The chairman Wolf-Dietrich Erhard announced at the end of the meeting that he would suspend his mandate with "immediate effect", the club announced.
"Even if I have nothing to do with the data protection affair personally, with my decision I would like to help ensure that a new start is possible," said Erhard.
Claudia Maintok and James Bührer resigned from their offices before the actual meeting.
The data affair and its processing have been a burden for VfB for months and are considered to be central issues in the power struggle between Hitzlsperger and Vogt.
Membership data is said to have been passed on - among other things, to promote the outsourcing of the professional department, which was decided in summer 2017.
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