Trouble in paradise. We are Bayern and you are not, the fans chanted at the general meeting at the club’s management. What’s bothering them?

Bayern Munich is the biggest club in Germany, thanks to the 50+1 rule it operates very democratically, it is economically prosperous, it is often held up as a model, it has loyal fans. In short, everything is seemingly paradise-like. However, the events at the General Assembly showed the opposite.

Bayern Munich fans have long protested against collaborations with Qatar, but things are starting to pick up momentum. They made their opposition loudly known during the AGM.

Club legend Uli Hoeness says he’s never experienced such a bad assembly. Overall, he considers this the worst moment he has ever experienced at Bayern. Apparently winning trophies is not enough for the fans. They’re not going to give up their principles.

Interestingly, the fans are not protesting against the reduced capacity due to the coronavirus, nor against the fines to players for refusing vaccinations. They are simply most concerned about Qatar.

At the AGM, Bayern lawyer and fan member Michael Ott wanted to discuss the end of the partnership with Qatar Airways, as well as calling for the resignation of club president Herbert Hainer. However, both proposals were thrown off the table.

This caused a huge wave of discontent. Fans began chanting a clarion call: ‘ We are Bayern and you are not. We are the fans you don’t want.”

It is worth noting that there were around 800 supporters present. If it had not been for the coronavirus, there would have been many times more.

Ott, the aforementioned supporter and lawyer, is the face of the fight against Qatar due to the fact that he is very experienced in legal battles concerning human rights.

“We can no longer be proud of our achievements when we know about how they were achieved. As far as I know our money comes from Qatar, it is blood money and our achievements are marked by this. We cannot sacrifice our values for the sake of success. It’s something we should be ashamed of,” Ott was quoted as saying in an interview with DW.

The situation regarding cooperation with Qatar has not been resolved so far. So it will continue to be a problem. It will be interesting to see if the club will give in to the fans. The cooperation with Qatar Arways should last until 2023.

Sources: DW, Bayern Munich