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Resistance is broad-based, but the chances of influence are small. SRF clarifies the most important questions.
The history: Sporting disappointments, miscommunication, financial problems: the club’s leadership around president Bernhard Burgener has struggled with FCB fans for a long time, but now the criticism has reached a new dimension with an online petition launched on Monday .
What does the “Yystoo for e FCB” petition want? Die Online-Petition , Link opens in a new windowask for a change at the top of the club. Several thousand fans signed the application within a few hours.
The initiators also include prominent names, such as the head of the Basel Child and Adult Protection Authority (KESB), Patrick Fassbind. «We want a different management culture at FCB. The last few years have done enormous damage to our image. ”There is a threat that the club will become a“ plaything of economic interests or a battlefield for legal disputes, ”the petitioners write.
How widely is the protest supported? A look at the list of firms may surprise even the connoisseurs of the FCB. In addition to household names from the fan scene, the petitioners also include well-known personalities from culture and politics.
However, this broad-based resistance cannot compensate for the extremely limited influence that fans have.
How do fans want to topple Burgener as club president? Even with the thousands of signatures, the influence of fans is still small. This requires a look at the structure of the club. FC Basel is a holding company. As the graph shows, Bernhard Burgener is represented in all major units.
“FC Basel AG” is what is commonly known as the professional company of FC Basel. 75% of the shares are owned by “FC Basel Holding AG”, of which Bernhard Burgener is the majority shareholder. The fans are represented by “Verein FCB” and own 25 percent of the club.
The goal of the fans is that Burgener is expelled from the position as president of the FCB club at the general assembly in October. Instead, a fan representative should take their place.
Is it a symbolic fall or do fans want real influence? The action should be understood more as a symbolic entry against Burgener, should he be removed from office as president of the FCB club. In addition to the no-confidence vote, fan representatives would also receive two tangible leverage.
The president of the “FCB Club” has a seat on the board of directors of “FC Basel AG” and the club has the rights to the FCB name and logo and could prohibit Burgener from using the logo. The bottom line is that if Burgener were kicked out of the club, it would be a slap in the face and the fans would strengthen his influence a bit.
And what does the FCB management say? “No comment!”. President Bernhard Burgener, but also CEO Roland Heri, do not want to comment on the criticism. With this, the club management seems to lose a dialogue with the fans again. These, in turn, let their anger run throughout the city.
