Fans of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim have reacted to the escalating power struggle at the North Baden Bundesliga soccer club with numerous posters and banners. Before the match against RB Leipzig in the Sinsheim stadium, the protest was directed against player advisor Roger Wittmann, who is considered an intimate of patron Dietmar Hopp. The 85-year-old himself was sitting in the main stand.
An ultra group had distributed flyers around the arena with a fake wanted poster for Wittmann. TSG did not want to comment on this for the time being. "Roger Wittmann, get the fuck out of our club" was the slogan on a banner across the south curve. There was a piece of paper with similar wording in numerous seats.
Personnel shake-up in the week before the game
Last week, the disputes, which have already been taken to court, cost two TSG managing directors their jobs - Markus Schütz and Frank Briel. However, the current management team of Andreas Schicker (Sport) and Tim Jost (Marketing) is "fully capable of acting", explained Jörg Albrecht, 1st Chairman of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim e.V. and thus also majority shareholder.
The personnel quake was triggered by the long-running dispute with Wittmann, which initially culminated in a stadium and house ban for the influential player agent, who had been with TSG for many years. This was partially lifted by the Heidelberg district court in September.
Hopp on Wittmann's side
The Hoffenheim management around Schütz and Briel wanted to minimize Wittmann's strong influence. TSG shareholder Hopp had strongly criticized the measures against his friend Wittmann. The billionaire holds 49 percent of the professional division as a shareholder, with the club owning the remaining 51 percent.
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