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Borussia Dortmund fans have announced plans to begin the 2024/25 Bundesliga season with a protest. Club officials revealed back in May that they were entering a partnership with arms manufacturer Rheinmetall. This came at a time when Dortmund was set to face Real Madrid in the Champions League final. It is safe to say that the decision has not gone down well with fans.
Founded in 1889, the company specializes in producing armored fighting vehicles. Tanks built by Rheinmetall were previously used by Germany in both World Wars. In recent years, arms produced by the company were used in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Partially due to the conflict in Ukraine, Rheinmetall is reportedly expecting to make around $11 billion in sales this year alone. Headquartered in Düsseldorf, about an hour outside of Dortmund, the company recently revealed plans to build a new factory in northern Germany. This plant will produce 200,000 artillery shells, nearly 2,000 tons of explosives, and possibly even warheads.
Official Dortmund supporter groups join forces against arms manufacturer deal
Dortmund residents typically pride themselves on being working-class, anti-establishment community members. Because of this, a majority of the club’s fans have strong feelings about the aforementioned partnership. Major supporter groups quickly denounced Dortmund’s three-year marketing deal with Rheinmetall.
Dortmund chairman, Hans-Joachim Watzke, has since defended the partnership with the arms manufacturer. As a result, the supporter association Südtribüne Dortmund issued a joint statement regarding the situation on Wednesday. The group, which also spoke on behalf of dozens of other official fan associations, claims that they were not informed of the partnership before it was announced.
“We firmly reject the idea that those responsible at BVB and all its committees have agreed to use Borussia Dortmund’s appeal to improve the public image of an arms company and throw…
Source link : https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/yellow-wall-turns-red-dortmund-fans-blast-arms-deal/
Author : Chris Moore
Publish date : 2024-08-21 20:36:31
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