November 19 – Ahead of the club’s general annual meeting this weekend, Borussia Dortmund fans have called on their club to end the sponsorship deal with arms manufacturer Rheinmetall.
Fan group ‘Scharwzgelbe’ have seized the moment to publish a motion from fan Wilfried Harthan on behalf of the Heinrich Czerkus supporters’ group demanding the club terminate the deal “as soon as possible”. The fan group has called the deal “sports washing” and “incompatible with our club’s core values”.
Last season, in the week leading up to the final of the Champions League, Dortmund announced their deal with Rheinmetall, the world’s largest maker of artillery ammunition, prompting a fan protest from the German fans at the showpiece match in London. The supporters expressed their dismay again at Dortmund’s first Bundesliga game of the current season.
The supporters said: “The advertising deal between Borussia Dortmund GmbH & Co. KGaA and the military weapons manufacturer Rheinmetall came as a complete surprise to most members of the club and has shaped the club’s external image ever since. For many Black and Yellows, this calls into question their self-image as a member of Borussia Dortmund.”
“Ukraine’s indisputable right to self-defense is the most important building block in justifying this deal. The war in Ukraine and the subsequent global arms build-up are topics that are being discussed extremely controversially, including among Borussia Dortmund’s membership. It is not the job of a football club to promote social acceptance for an arms company, especially since Rheinmetall is a coin with two sides,” the supporters’ statement continues.
“Like any other industrial sector, the arms industry lives from the sale and consumption of its products. Those who manufacture weapons of war do not make money from peace, but from war.”
The motion is not legally binding in that the club do not have to bring it before the AGM, but it does serve as a clear signal to the club’s board.
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