Bundesliga News

Bobic speaks on transfers and fan re-entry: "Do we really need to take legal action?"

By Peter Weis   @PeterVicey

In addition to confirming the probable transfer of two players, Hertha BSC sporting CEO Fredi Bobic offered his own views on the state of fan re-entry in the Bundesrepublik during a media roundtable on Friday afternoon.
Fredi Bobic.
Fredi Bobic.Photo: Sven Mandel / CC-BY-SA-4.0
Journalists speaking with the personnel boss of the West German capital city side on Friday were firstly curious about a pair of transfer rumors involving Hertha BSC. Newly installed sporting CEO Fredi Bobic jovially confirmed that Luca Netz was very likely on his way to Borussia Mönchengladbach while also confirming that the club currently "weighed" whether a not a deal for Dutch winger Jurgen Ekkelenkamp was financially viable.


When it came time to discuss the state of live spectators being allowed in to stadiums across the Bundesrepublik, Bobic wasn't quite as acerbic as some of his executive colleagues across the league. The 49-year-old nevertheless did let some frustrations slip and struck a similar tone regarding the capacity limits and what many perceive as an excellent incentive to get more citizens vaccinated.

"The strange thing about it is that the public health officials say 'you guys have super [hygiene] concepts'," Bobic divulged, "The health officials say we can fill the Olympiastadion to 50 or 60 percent capacity if we implement just like that. Then the politicians suddenly say, 'no you can't'."

"It makes matters difficult," Bobic continued, "Sometimes I ask myself, is accepting this the right way to play it? Do we need to take legal action? Do we really have to? Or will common sense kick in at some point?"

Like many others Bobic endorsed the idea of according more seats for fans who can provide proof of either vaccination or recovery. His former club Frankfurt presently proceeds with plans to allow in four times as many spectators who can provide such confirmation. Dortmund are reserving more places for such individuals by a factor of twenty.

Bobic's words weren't exactly as straightforward as that of 1. FC Union president Dirk Zingler, but the chief exec addressed the issue of incentivizing the population to get inoculated head on.

"Restrictions amount to grist in the mill of the unvaccinated," Bobic noted, "Because they'll say to themselves, 'If I'm vaccinated, then I won't get any special rights anyway'."


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