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matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford
@matt4d.bsky.social
4.9K followers 320 following 440 posts
Freelance journalist based in Germany | German & European football, sports politics & fan culture | The Guardian, The New European, London Evening Standard, BBC Sport, DW Sports, 11Freunde, SoFoot, etc | United We Stand 🇾🇪
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matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · Mar 24
🟡 Hans-Joachim Watzke is stepping down after 20 years as Borussia Dortmund CEO

🟡 He insists he's leaving the club "stronger than ever" financially - but is frustrated by the team's current #Bundesliga struggles

🟡 Exclusive interview for @theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com/football/202...
Twenty years of Borussia Dortmund: Watzke on near-bankruptcy, selling players and Klopp
In an exclusive interview the Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke discusses his two decades at the club, saying it has given him more than he was able to give back
www.theguardian.com
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matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · 17h
🇩🇪 On the terraces on the 35th anniversary of German Reunification, with a focus on:

⛴️ What Hansa Rostock‘s trip to MSV Duisburg revealed about the continuing disparity between East & West

Plus:
🏟️ Fanbase of the week: Köln
🖼️ Choreo of the week: Dynamo

gegenpressing.substack.com/p/on-the-ter...
On the terraces: East meets West on German Unity Day
In a weekly Newsletter, Matt Ford keeps an eye on the action off the pitch in the Bundesliga and German football, explaining what’s going on from choreographies to fan protests to finances.
gegenpressing.substack.com
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matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · 7d
🇩🇪 On the terraces in Germany this week:

🇺🇸 Bayern ultras vs. Trump
🔵 Support for Karlsruhe Fanprojekt
⏰ Bremen&HSV kick-off time protests
🤝 Jena helping Lok (seriously)
🏥 Heidenheim fan injured after fall
🧨 Pyro of the week

Full stories on Gegenpressing:

gegenpressing.substack.com/p/on-the-ter...
On the terraces: Bayern ultras take aim at Trump, Support for Karlsruhe Fanprojekt, Heidenheim fan injured
In a weekly Newsletter, Matt Ford keeps an eye on the action off the pitch in the Bundesliga and German football, explaining what’s going on from choreographies to fan protests to finances.
gegenpressing.substack.com
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matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · 15d
🇩🇪 On the terraces this week:

🏟️ Frankfurt: two huge choreos
🍻 1860 Munich’s Oktoberfest hangover
🤝 Bayern & Bochum friendship
❌ Gladbach ultras miss B04 away
🌲 BVB vs. Schalke fight
💰 50+1 update
🏴‍☠️ USP statement

Another packed Gegenpressing newsletter! ⬇️

gegenpressing.substack.com/p/on-the-ter...
On the terraces: Frankfurt choreos, 1860 Munich's Oktoberfest hangover, 50+1 update
In a weekly Newsletter, Matt Ford keeps an eye on the action off the pitch in the Bundesliga and German football, explaining what’s going on from choreographies to fan protests to finances.
gegenpressing.substack.com
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matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · 16d
50+1 update: In addition to Bayer Leverkusen & VfL Wolfsburg (+ other clubs), Bayer AG & Volkswagen AG are now officially party to deliberations between Bundeskartellamt & DFL regarding exemptions from 50+1 in the context of the latest appraisal, reports Kicker.

Background: bsky.app/profile/matt...
matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · Jun 16
50+1: Germany's Federal Competition Regulator (Bundeskartellamt) continues to have "no fundamental concerns" regarding the 50+1 rule, but has called on the German Football League (DFL) to take "concrete measures" to ensure that all clubs allow "open access to membership and participation for fans."
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matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · 17d
Was at Schalke last week! Will try and head back at least once more this season.

gegenpressing.substack.com/p/schalke-ba...
Schalke: baby steps in Gelsenkirchen
After a solid start to the season, Schalke 04 were brought down to earth by Holstein Kiel on Saturday. Still, there is cautious optimism in Gelsenkirchen that the club is on the road to recovery.
gegenpressing.substack.com
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matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · 17d
United may be taking a well-earned break from Europe, but United We Stand certainly isn’t. First stop: Hamburg.

Buy the fanzines and support an independent fan culture in Manchester: www.uwsonline.com/subscribe.php

#mufc 🇾🇪
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matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · 17d
Harry Kane x3 for Bayern Munich vs. Hoffenheim
Oliver Burke x3 for Union Berlin vs. Eintracht Frankfurt

Hat-tricks from two British strikers on one #Bundesliga weekend. Surely a first?
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matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · 21d
On the terraces this week in Germany:

🏴‍☠️ Ultrà Sankt Pauli speak out on Israel & Gaza
🟢 VfL Wolfsburg celebrate 80th anniversary
🟡 Borussia Dortmund away kit protest
🎆 Hannover 96 pyro show

Full stories on Gegenpressing:

gegenpressing.substack.com/p/on-the-ter...
On the terraces: Ultrà Sankt Pauli speak out on Israel & Gaza, Wolfsburg celebrate anniversary, BVB kit criticism
In a weekly Newsletter, Matt Ford keeps an eye on the action off the pitch in the Bundesliga and German football, explaining what’s going on from choreographies to fan protests to finances.
gegenpressing.substack.com
5
matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · 25d
🔵 Earlier today, Schalke welcomed their 200,000th member before playing in front of a 62,000 sell-out crowd. And losing to Holstein Kiel. In the second division.

My report from Gelsenkirchen on the situation at Germany‘s third-biggest club in 2025 ⬇️

gegenpressing.substack.com/p/schalke-ba...
Schalke: baby steps in Gelsenkirchen
After a solid start to the season, Schalke 04 were brought down to earth by Holstein Kiel on Saturday. Still, there is cautious optimism in Gelsenkirchen that the club is on the road to recovery.
gegenpressing.substack.com
8
matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · 25d
HSV‘s trips to Munich prior to relegation …

Im Süden nichts Neues …

#bundesliga
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matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · 28d
An unusually busy international break on the terraces:

🎟️ Germany: ticket price protest
🌎 Games abroad: fan reactions
🇩🇪 Security: Friedrich Merz criticism
👮‍♂️ Hannover: Niedersachsenderby appeal
🔷 HSV: Nordtribüne warning

Full stories on Gegenpressing:

gegenpressing.substack.com/p/on-the-ter...
On the terraces: Fans slam Germany ticket prices, games abroad and Friedrich Merz
In a weekly Newsletter, Matt Ford keeps an eye on the action off the pitch in the Bundesliga and German football, explaining what’s going on from choreographies to fan protests to finances.
gegenpressing.substack.com
4
Reposted by Matt Ford
fanhilfen.bsky.social
Dachverband der Fanhilfen @fanhilfen.bsky.social · Sep 8
Was braucht es, um die Kriminalisierung von Fans endlich zu stoppen? Über unsere konkreten Forderungen haben wir mit der @faznet.bsky.social gesprochen.

#Fanrechte

www.faz.net/aktuell/spor...
Fanhilfen reagieren: Friedrich Merz warnt vor Gewalt in Fußballstadien
Bundeskanzler Merz warnt vor Gewalt in deutschen Fußballstadien, die Fanhilfen reagieren darauf mit Unverständnis. Braucht es noch mehr Wasserwerfer – oder hilft am Ende vor allem der Dialog?
www.faz.net
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matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · Sep 7
"The price of greed = empty seats! Football must be affordable!"

German fans at tonight's World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland in Köln, which isn't sold out. With standard tickets costing between €50 and €127.65, unsurprising.

📷 @shermanns.bsky.social
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matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · Sep 4
📽️ Chat with @manuelveth.bsky.social about the pros and cons of the #Bundesliga's new UK streaming deal and the unique selling points of German football in 2025.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRId...
Is the Bundesliga UK television deal a glimpse into the future?
YouTube video by The Gegenpressing Podcast
www.youtube.com
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Reposted by Matt Ford
50plusdoner.bsky.social
50 Plus Döner @50plusdoner.bsky.social · Sep 3
Incredible Matt Ford work once again.

50+1 is easily the best part about German soccer, but sometimes its a fight to keep it going.

Give this a read, the Leverkusen addition and the upcoming fight over exemptions will be a big thing to watch.
matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · Sep 3
The German Football League (DFL)'s AGM took place in Berlin today:

- Hans-Joachim Watzke (BVB) re-elected as supervisory board chairman & board spokesman
- Jan-Christian Dreesen (FCB) & Axel Hellmann (SGE) elected to board
- Fernando Carro (B04) elected to supervisory board

🧵What does it all mean?
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matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · Sep 3
Merz, a close friend of Watzke, said he "enjoys seeing games live" but admitted: "That's been possible less frequently recently."

Another visit to a Bundesliga stadium might give Herr Merz a more realistic idea of "stadium security" than sensationalist reports compiled by his police force.
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matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · Sep 3
Merz then bizarrely juxtaposed the 50+1 debate with an apparent "stadium security" issue: "The fan scene is not getting easier."

He called for the focus to "remain on the sport, the game, the teams" and not on "topics which have no place in football stadiums."

...and thus spoke the CDU politician.
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matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · Sep 3
Earlier, even Chancellor Friedrich Merz commented on 50+1: "I remain an advocate of this rule."

Even if German clubs "limit themselves in terms of capital and competition with other European clubs…football should remain a club sport in which clubs play a strong role."

Thus spoke the BVB fan...
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matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · Sep 3
Hellmann on Carro: "[He] plays an important role in German and European football. On 50+1, we're far apart. But we need consensus. So I think it's helpful to have [him] on the supervisory board. The diversity of the Bundesliga landscape should be reflected on the committees."
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matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · Sep 3
Hellmann: "Legal security for 50+1 and the avoidance of legal battles are in all our interest. In the fan scene, 50+1 is an even bigger topic than the [private equity] investor. It's German football's sacred cow and rightly so. [More] fan protests would not be in the Bundesliga's interest."
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matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · Sep 3
Axel Hellmann - Eintracht Frankfurt CEO elected to DFL board

On 50+1 (via Kicker): "The Bundeskartellamt's appraisal must be binding for us. After all, we requested it. It is our duty to take it on board and structure the 50+1 rule accordingly. The ball is in the league's court."
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matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · Sep 3
Sports law expert Prof. Alexander Scheuch (Bonn Uni) to colleague @chalednahar.bsky.social:

"The Bundeskartellamt has set a minimum requirement: the majority of voting rights at each club must be in the hands of a member-controlled club."

Not the case in Leverkusen or Wolfsburg (or at red bull).
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matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · Sep 3
Carro to reporters: "50+1 affects German football as a whole; reducing it to just Leverkusen and Wolfsburg isn't right. We've lived with the exemptions with no problems thus far; I don't see any need to change anything."

The Bundeskartellamt sees things differently. So, presumably, would the ECJ.
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matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · Sep 3
Fernando Carro - Bayer Leverkusen CEO since 2018

Given that the Bundeskartellamt has criticised exemptions to 50+1 (see above) and called for its uniform application, perhaps surprising that a critic of 50+1, and CEO of one of those exemptions, has been voted onto the DFL's supervisory board.
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matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · Sep 3
The big issue hanging over German football: the 50+1 rule

Watzke: "We must do everything we can do retain 50+1. For me, an elementary part of the people's game. We all need to fight for it."

Latest on 50+1 here ➡️ bsky.app/profile/matt...

And here ➡️ gegenpressing.substack.com/p/on-the-ter...
matt4d.bsky.social
Matt Ford @matt4d.bsky.social · Jun 16
50+1: Germany's Federal Competition Regulator (Bundeskartellamt) continues to have "no fundamental concerns" regarding the 50+1 rule, but has called on the German Football League (DFL) to take "concrete measures" to ensure that all clubs allow "open access to membership and participation for fans."
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