November 25 – Borussia Dortmund director Hans-Joachim Watzke has defended the club’s controversial sponsorship deal with arms manufacturer Rheinmetall, arguing that the hierarchy weighed up economic considerations against social responsibility.
On Sunday, at the club’s annual general meeting, Watzke said: “You can’t rule out that at the end of the day, there will be different opinions. We took the issue to the committees, to the presidium, to the board. We discussed it very intensively. I knew that it was a difficult decision to weigh up economic issues and social responsibility. The committees ultimately voted unanimously that we should do it.”
He emphasised that different opinions in a club have to be respected and form part of democracy. He added: “It was a tough decision, but I stand by it.”
It was Wilfried Harthan, a club member, who moved to have the deal called off. At the AGM, Jakob Scholz from the club’s fan department said: “I have never received as many letters and messages as on this topic – and mostly not positive.”
He added that the deal had come as a surprise to supporters and divided the fanbase.
A few days before last season’s Champions League final against Real Madrid, Dortmund revealed the deal with Germany’s largest arms company that, according to local media, will generate around €20 million over the next three years for the club.
At Wembley, the Borussia fans protested with a large banner, calling out the ‘weaponswashing’. They expressed their dismay again at the start of the new Bundesliga season.
Watzke promised that next year the opinion of all 218,000 Dortmund members will be gathered in an online poll.
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