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Gerhard Schröder during the 2017 DFB Cup final between Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt in the Berlin Olympic Stadium
Photo: TEAM2 / imago/Team 2
Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund has withdrawn honorary membership from former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder.
Club President Dr.
Reinhard Rauball personally informed Schröder about this, the club said.
The background is Schröder's role as chairman of the supervisory board of the Russian oil company Rosneft, as well as his close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
After the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Schröder was heavily criticized.
Hannover 96 and DFB are also planning measures against Schröder
Schröder's home club Hannover 96 and the German Football Association are also planning measures against the ex-chancellor.
According to a club announcement, the board of Hannover 96 informed Schröder that an exclusion from the club was being examined against him.
The reason was the "obviously contradicting the values of Mr. Schröder," it said.
In a joint statement by DFB interim presidents Rainer Koch and Hans-Joachim Watzke, the DFB announced that "Honorary members of the DFB must unreservedly commit to the basic values enshrined in the DFB's statutes," including "in particular respect for all internationally recognized human rights and the obligation to oppose all inhuman attitudes and behavior.
Schröder was made an honorary member in 2005 under DFB President Theo Zwanziger.
The association expects the SPD politician to either resign from his positions at the energy company Rosneft and the gas pipeline operator Nord Stream before the DFB Bundestag on March 11 in Bonn or to renounce honorary membership.
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