Schalke members refuse to discharge board members for 2019 and 2020

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General meeting of Schalke 04 in the Veltins Arena

Photo: IMAGO/RHR-FOTO / IMAGO/RHR-Foto

Five weeks after returning to the Bundesliga, Schalke 04 prepared their fans for a long relegation battle.

"Staying up in the league and reducing liabilities are our goals for this season and next," said CEO Bernd Schröder at the Royal Blues' general meeting on Sunday in the arena.

Only then can you start working on other goals.

Sports director Peter Knäbel also emphasized: "Our goal is to stay up, stay up, stay up." At the same time, he promised that the team would be "suitable for the Bundesliga", "but it's also clear: we have to get better in all areas."

Liabilities of 183.5 million euros

Supervisory Board Chairman Axel Hefer said with a view to the high debt: "It was clear that it would take years to restructure the club and re-establish it in the Bundesliga.

But confidence in the financial markets is slowly returning.«

According to CFO Christina Rühl-Hamers, the liabilities have been reduced by around 30 million euros, but they still amount to 183.5 million.

"The backpack's gotten a little lighter," she said.

The members blamed the old management team for last year's relegation and the desolate financial situation.

The board members Christian Heidel, Peter Peters, Alexander Jobst and Jochen Schneider as well as the supervisory board around the former boss Clemens Tönnies were not discharged for the financial years 2019 and 2020.

Earlier, a member had called for non-discharge on stage and suggested examining whether former board members could be held personally accountable for mistakes.

The 2019 board included Christian Heidel, Alexander Jobst, Peter Peters and Jochen Schneider.

In 2020, the committee consisted of Jobst, Peters, Schneider and Christina Rühl-Hamers.

The board responsible for 2021 with Rühl-Hamers, Schneider, Jobst and Peter Knäbel was relieved.

Officially, 4,338 members were present in the Veltins Arena, of which 4,238 were entitled to vote.

Not everyone voted.

ara/dpa/sid