North East German Football Association
Why Tennis Borussia Berlin is not allowed to advertise the “Victim Fund rights violence”
Nemanja Samardzic (r.) is bare on the chest, TeBe is still missing a jersey sponsor for the season
© Daniel Lakomski / Imago Images
The North-East German Football Association has banned the football club Tennis Borussia Berlin from promoting a fund that supports victims of right-wing violence. The reason in particular has caused a stir.
What is political or self-evident in civil society, i.e. quasi-political, opinions on this sometimes diverge. In the football Regionalliga Nordost, a conflict is currently taking place in which exactly this question is at stake. Tennis Borussia Berlin did not yet have a shirt sponsor at the beginning of the season and wanted to use the free space to advertise for Cura victims Fund rights violence, which belongs to the Amadeu Antonio Foundation. But nothing came of it, because the North – East German Football Association banned this without further ado-since then there has been excitement.
In its justification of the ban, the NOFV referred to paragraph 25, paragraph 8 of the Rules of the Game. The prohibits ” advertising for political groups and political statements,” wrote the association in an email to the club in late July. There the ban was received with irritation. Especially since in said communication a further justification was provided. There is concern that “a certain group of people may feel provoked”by the jersey advertising. One immediately wonders, of course, who these “certain groups” are. Right-wing blackjacks and sympathizers?
The NOFV is under great pressure
Tebe published the mail and since then the NOFV is under a lot of pressure. In trying to do damage control, the association only made things worse. The NOFV pushed a further explanation, in which there was nothing more of provoked groups, but a cumbersome reason why the advertising was allegedly politically unbalanced.
This is due to the “reference to exclusively right-wing violence, because there is also violence from the left and other forms of aggression and discrimination”. Of course, the association stands for “diversity and tolerance” and “resolutely opposes racist, constitutional and xenophobic aspirations as well as other discriminatory or inhuman behaviour”. But not with such advertising.
Tebe published open letter
The next stage in the conflict ignited TeBe last Wednesday. The association published an open letter on its website, which was signed by numerous supporters. In it, those responsible demand a rethinking of the association and make the proposal to change the rules of the game. It “could create a legal basis within the rules of the game that allows civil society engagement against discrimination and for an open society”.
But the association does not want to hear about it. When asked how and whether one would react to this, Managing Director Holger Fuchs told the star“no statement from the club “was received in the matter and therefore has not yet responded. Fuchs referred to the official reason that they should be “respected”. The first reason that “people may feel provoked” will be discussed “in depth internally”. Otherwise, there is no comment.
Sources: “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”, Tennis Borussia Berlin, NOFV
