Status: 16.07.2024 11:55 a.m.
Martin Kind is no longer managing director of the second division football club Hannover 96. The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) declared on Tuesday in Karlsruhe that the dismissal of the entrepreneur as head of Hannover 96 Management GmbH by the management of the parent club Hannover 96 eV two years ago was legal.
As a final instance, the Federal Court of Justice rejected Kind’s lawsuit against the dismissal. The 80-year-old had successfully defended himself against this before the Hanover Regional Court and the Celle Higher Regional Court. However, the highest German civil court overturned their decisions on Tuesday.
Conflict between child and parent association for years
Kind is now only the majority shareholder in the professional football division at Hannover 96. He was not present on Tuesday and did not want to comment on the verdict at first, but announced a statement. “I would like to consult with my lawyers first,” said Kind. According to the 96 statement, he will move to the “supervisory board of Hannover 96 GmbH & Co. KGaA.”
The 80-year-old has been at odds with the parent club Hannover 96 eV for years. In July 2022, the parent club removed Kind as head of the professional football division and managing director of Hannover 96 Management GmbH. The entrepreneur had successfully defended himself against this in court until the current BGH ruling. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
No impact on 50+1 rule for now
The ruling of the Federal Court of Justice also has consequences for the German Football League (DFL). Because with a child, a staunch opponent of the 50+1 rule in German professional football is no longer in a responsible position. As managing director and majority shareholder of the spun-off professional football division of Hannover 96, he initially tried in vain to obtain an exemption.
Since then, many supporters of the rule have feared that he could take this restriction on the influence of external investors, which only applies in Germany, to a regular court. However, all courts dealing with the case made it clear that this case was not about the effectiveness of the 50+1 rule, but only about the long-standing dispute between the capital and the club sides at Hannover 96.
Kind was first elected president there in 1997. In 1999, he spun off the professional football division. With a short interruption from 2005 to 2006, Kind was always the managing director and majority shareholder of this division until this year. However, the parent club Hannover 96 eV has been run by Kind opponents since 2019.
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