Former Bayern president Uli Hoeneß proposes abolishing the 50+1 rule

Uli Hoeneß is critical of the future of the Bundesliga. Hoeneß sees not only the Nations League and the associated increased burden on players as a problem, but also the sporting competitiveness of the Bundesliga at international level. He is in favour of abolishing the 50+1 rule.

In an interview with the G14 Plus editorial group, the honorary president of Bayern Munich said that he is concerned about the disparity between German football, French football with the exception of Paris Saint-Germain and, to some extent, Italian football vis-à-vis countries that have billions of mainly Arab but also American money at their disposal.

He was probably referring to the Premier League, which has always been dominated financially by strong international sponsors.

“If the Bundesliga – and this does not apply to Bayern Munich – does not think about abolishing the 50+1 rule, it will have great problems in the long run to stay on the international level,” Hoeneß added.

The 50+1 rule

This rule basically means that the fans have the majority of voting rights in their club and therefore the decision-making power is always with the club and not the investor.

Hoeneß left Bayern out of this discussion because the contracts there stipulate that no more than 30 percent of the shares can be sold.

FC Bayern München eV currently holds 75 per cent of the shares of FC Bayern AG, which includes professional footballers. Longtime partners Adidas, Allianz and Audi each hold 8.33 percent.

In the interview, he also commented on statements by BVB boss Hans-Joachim Watzke, who earlier this month predicted the end of Bayern’s dominance.

“At some point it will collapse,” Watzke said on Deutschlandfunk.

“They have been hoping for that for ten years. Why should it happen in the 11th?” Hoeneß responded. He added, however, that BVB will remain a “big competitor” to Bayern.

Hoeneß also expressed frustration at the heavy burden of players having to play four Nations League games after the season ended.

“It is madness to overload players like this in pre-season, when there is the World Cup in the winter and three games every week.”

Source: Bild, iMiaSanMia