Are there three investors at SV Mattersburg ante portas or are there just green and white glimmers of hope before the Bundesliga ultimatum expires on August 6?
Mattersburg. According to Rudolf Novotny, the representative of the professional trade union VdF in the Bundesliga criminal division 5, then the “economic model of SV Mattersburg worked”. You can find hair in the soup at anytime and at any time. But in the Burgenland there would never have been one, according to Novotny.
The Senate 5 must make a decision on August 6 whether the SVM remains in the first division or is refused a license due to missing criteria (information about the financial situation, restructuring process). At the tenth of the past season, all wires are overheating. Supposedly there are already three potential investors:
► Nedeljko Malić: He played in central defense for 15 years and was considered the “favorite student” of President Martin Pucher. The Bosnian is not only a football player, but also a graduate engineer and is currently studying soil culture. His father-in-law heads a large energy provider.
► Chien Lee: The Chinese-American industrialist already owns FC Thun, FC Ostend, FC Nice and Barnsley – the club that coach Gerhard Struber has just saved in the English championship. According to rumors, Mattersburg should fit into his “portfolio” – especially because of the proximity to Hungary.
► Lörinc Mészáros: When talking about Hungary, the name Viktor Orbán always comes up. The premier is passionate about football and, according to “Standard”, his left and right hands are said to have already appeared in Mattersburg. The media tycoon was mayor in Orbán’s hometown Felcsút and also headed the club there. However, he is primarily interested in the nearby academy.
The deadline is August 6th, and that’s a good thing, not only Novotny thinks. The appointment – one month before the start of the season (September 11) – offers the opportunity for planning security. At WSG Wattens that will be heard with goodwill, the actual relegation would take the place of Mattersburg and is currently stuck in no man’s land. Before the painting versions at Commerzialbank, headed by Martin Pucher, became known, the club had always been a model student in terms of license. “He never had a license problem, there was never a liquidity problem.”
Novotny rejected criticism of Senate 5 and the procedure of the Bundesliga. “It is a quality test procedure. If someone deceives you and there is criminal energy, they will also be able to deceive you. ”The concerns of the league should be considered in the longer term, you want clarity. How do things look now, like in six months? Above all: The bankruptcy administrator of the Commerzialbank will make demands on the association at some point. This should be set aside on the balance sheet.
Three million euros
Gernot Zirngast, chairman of the football club, sees investors’ entry into the existentially threatened club as relaxed. “It won’t work without an investor,” said Zirngast. “It was seen in Klagenfurt that it could work.” There, a group led by German-Croatian Tomislav Karajica had taken over Klagenfurter Austria in early 2019 and was quickly transformed from a problem case into a model student. It was clear that there had to be a quick solution: “The players who are now under contract with the club want clarity,” he said. And everyone else too – for the league’s sake.
In any case, the league avoided financial damage in connection with the commercial bank. According to a report by the ORF business magazine “Eco”, more than three million euros had been invested in the now closed bank by spring 2019. On the advice of the supervisory board Christian Jauk, who is also president of Sturm Graz, the money was withdrawn and invested in “systemically important banks”.
“It was such a gut feeling. If a bank offers such high deposit rates, it has to earn it. The business model was not that I could have trusted her so easily, ”said bank manager Jauk. “I warned that money should be concentrated on a small regional bank that offers deposit rates well above average.”
Bundesliga board member Christian Ebenbauer confirmed the financial investment. However, there was no evidence that anything could be wrong with the club’s financial situation. “To my knowledge, there were no inconsistencies at all. The association’s auditor always issued the certificate together with the positive prognosis for continued existence. ”(Fin)
Causa Commerzialbank page 15
(“Die Presse”, print edition, August 1, 2020)
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