Controversy over Bundesliga Dortmund's military supplier's involvement in 'sportswashing'
Controversy over Bundesliga Dortmund's military supplier's involvement in 'sportswashing'
Blog Article
of the German professional football Bundesliga, which caused a sensation by finishing second in this year's Union of
European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League (UCL),is embroiled in controversy over its involvement in
'sportswashing' (a method of using sports to wash away a negative image) by defense company Rheinmetall.
According to local media outlets such as the economic newspaper Handelsblatt on the 4th (local time), Dortmund
announced on the 29th of last month that it had signed a sponsorship contract with Rheinmetall. Accordingly,
Rheinmetall will advertise on the scoreboard of Westfalenstadion, Dortmund's home stadium, for three years. It has
decided not to advertise on the 합법 uniforms.
On this day, Rheinmetall also signed a one-year sponsorship contract with Düsseldorfer EG of the German Ice Hockey
League. Düsseldorfer EG also decided to advertise Rheinmetall only on the ice rink and scoreboard, excluding the
uniforms.
,headquartered in Dusseldorf near Dortmund,is Germany's largest arms manufacturer, building the Leopard, the main
battle tank of the Bundeswehr. It is enjoying a boom, with sales up 12 percent last year over the previous year and its stock
price up 121 percent over the past year, as demand for weapons has surged due to the war in Ukraine.
It is the first time that a defense company has signed an advertising contract with a Bundesliga club.
Some Dortmund fans have protested, saying it goes against the club's mission statement, which the club adopted in
November 2022, which states: "We are committed to social achievement. This means a club life and community free of
racism, anti-Semitism, hostility towards LGBTQ people, sexism, violence and discrimination."
As of today, more than 20,000 people have signed a petition demanding that the contract be canceled because weapons
manufacturing incites violence and violates the club's principles.
At Wembley Stadium in London, England, where the UCL final was held on the 1st, fans protested by holding up banners
with slogans such as “Rheinmetall: A clean image with football?” and “Our mission is to protect Dortmund from
sportswashing.”
Hans-Joachim Watzke, the owner of Dortmund, seemed to anticipate the controversy when announcing the contract,
saying, "Security and defense are the cornerstones of our democracy," and "We must accept this new normal." Harald
Wirtz, the owner of Dusseldorfer EG, said, "Rheinmetall is a company with a long tradition and the largest and most
important employer in the region."
This is not the first time that a Bundesliga club's sponsorship has been controversial.
Schalke 04 signed an advertising contract with Russian state-owned energy companyfor the 2007–2008 season , but
removed the Gazprom logo from their shirts only after the outbreak of the Ukraine war in 2022. Bayern Munich, VfB
Stuttgart, and Hertha Berlin have also been embroiled in controversy over advertising contracts with online sports betting
companies.