Fans in Germany are known for their broad range of social activism. They often express their opinions on various political issues through songs and banners in the stands. Last year, they successfully prevented the entry of dubious private capital into German football, and they frequently voice their dissatisfaction with the way their favorite clubs generate revenue, particularly through sponsorship deals. The latest such action took place yesterday at the Westfalenstadion, where Borussia Dortmund’s fan base made it clear to the club’s management what they think about their partnership with Rheinmetall, a Düsseldorf-based company that manufactures weapons.Many Borussia Dortmund fan and ultra groups in the Südtribüne hold banners criticizing the club’s sponsorship deal with Rheinmetall, Germany’s biggest arms maker.Among the banners: “Money first, values second!”“20m full of blood”“No values? No morals?”#BVB #BVBSGE pic.twitter.com/dwepSCBERC— Felix Tamsut (@ftamsut) August 24, 2024 In protest, fans placed a model of a tank in front of the stadium before the match against Eintracht Frankfurt and showed a red card to Armin Papperger, the CEO of the mentioned company. Let’s recall that on May 29, Dortmund announced they had signed a three-year contract with Rheinmetall, just three days before the team suffered a defeat in the Champions League final against Real Madrid at Wembley. At that time, the deal went largely unnoticed. However, it became clear yesterday that the fans would not let this slide easily. The “Südtribüne Dortmund” association announced on Saturday that more than 90 fan groups agreed that there is no place for Rheinmetall and its money in sports, and therefore not in Dortmund either.”Money first, real values second.””Where is your morality?””You took 20 bloody million.”Gittens scores first career brace in a Dortmund winThese were just some of the banners displayed on the largest fan stand at the Westfalenstadion. Another reminder: Borussia Dortmund will earn close to 25,000,000 from their three-year contract with Rheinmetall, or about 11,000,000 per season. Rheinmetall is the world’s largest producer of artillery ammunition and is expected to achieve record sales of around 10 billion this year.”For the first time in many years, we have a war in Europe. The majority of Germans welcome the fact that the Bundeswehr is being modernized so that democracy and freedom in our country are not threatened. Similarly, many people support our backing of Ukraine with our defense technology. Where would the Ukrainians be today without weapons from America and Europe? Through our partnership with Rheinmetall, we want to play a small role in all of this. We are well aware that our fans have different opinions on this topic. That’s why discussion is important” said Hans-Joachim Watzke, the former head of Borussia Dortmund, about two months ago. He announced a discussion, and then a few days later, he signed the aforementioned three-year contract. So much for democracy.Bundesliga preview: Behold, Bayern is not the top favorite for the titleDuring yesterday’s protest, Dortmund fans reminded the public that Rheinmetall first tried to “enter” Borussia Mönchengladbach but was rejected twice. In both cases, the reasons were “of a moral nature,” as stated in Gladbach’s announcement at the end of last year, which fans welcomed, despite the club’s rather precarious financial situation.BUNDESLIGA – MATCHDAY 1FridayM’ gladbach – Leverkusen 2-3 (0-1)/Elvedi 59, Kleindienst 85 – Xhaka 12, Wirtz 38, 90+11/SaturdayAugsburg – Werder 2-2 (2-1)/Rexhbecaj 16, Essende 35 – Agu 12, Njinmah 58/Freiburg – Stuttgart 3-1 (1-1)/Kubler 27, 61, Doan 54 – Demirovic 2/Hoffenheim – Holstein Kiel 3-2 (2-0)/Kramaric 6 pen, 37, 87 – Bernhardsson 63, Machino 89/Mainz – Union Berlin 1-1 (0-0)/Amiri 53 – Benes 74/RB Leipzig – Bochum 1-0 (0-0)/Nusa 59/Dortmund – Eintr.Frankfurt 2-0 (0-0)/Gittens 72, 90+3/Sunday16:30: (6.50) Wolfsburg (4.40) Bayern (1.50)18:30: (2.25) St.Pauli (3.40) Heidenheim (3.20)***odds are subject to change***
