Kornelia Toporzysek, you resigned from the Schalke Honorary Council last September. With the exception of a small contribution in the ZDF sports report, you have not yet made any public statements about this. Why?
I don’t want to do dirty laundry. In addition, I have no great urge to apply. I am not someone who wants to be in public. I made an exception for the ZDF sports report last December because it wasn’t about Clemens Tönnies, but generally about racism in football, an important topic.
But now break your silence.
Because the club has been trying to keep silent since last summer. And because I think that something must change fundamentally at FC Schalke 04. Now it’s about the thing, now it’s about the club. If we don’t change something now, when? We now have to put as much pressure on the road as possible.
What’s going wrong
You don’t even know where to start. The hardship application to compensate season ticket holders. The driver story. One PR disaster chases the next. After the hardship application, Jochen Schneider says the association must try to be more emphatic. How about: be more emphatic? With such statements, I ask myself: is that an inability? Or intention? A Freudian slip of the tongue?
What do these events trigger in you as a fan?
(Think for a long time). Stunned. Fright. Since the racism scandal last summer, we have been unable to get out of the negative headlines. Some make fun of the club, others even feel sorry for us. I personally cannot remember that it was that bad before.
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„We are down ”
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Ehrenratsmitglied a.D.
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And the 15 winning games in a row are probably the smallest problem, right?
Exactly. The club demands everything not only in terms of football, but also in terms of club politics and external image. This can hardly be endured. It doesn’t get any lower. We’re down. A hundred percent disaster. That is devastating.
Inwiefern?
There is a great sense of alienation. A lot of people wonder if this is actually still their club. I’m slow at this point too. How could this club move so far from what it actually stands for? We have a mission statement that the members have given themselves. It is not just lip service. I wonder if those responsible still feel committed to this mission statement.
Because managers like Jochen Schneider or Alexander Jobst do not understand the Schalke 04 association with its values and history?
I think that should be viewed in a differentiated way. Of course it’s great when someone has a stable smell, knows the club and internalizes its values. Above all, competence should be decisive for the transfer of a post. Even with qualified work you can ensure peace in the club. Ultimately, it is about credibly representing the values of the association. You can do that if you haven’t been a Schalke fan for three generations.
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– Andrea Hüttermann
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Kornelia Toporzysek
is a judge at the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court. On June 30, 2019, she was elected to the honorary council of the association by the Schalke general assembly. On September 17, 2019, she resigned from the committee.
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What about these values in the Schalke Honorary Council?
I started back then to bring in my legal expertise for the benefit of the association. However, I had the impression that, as a member of the Honorary Council, I am not primarily expected to have competent and qualified legal work on the committee, but rather loyalty and gratitude to certain people. That is not my claim.
Do you mean Clemens Tönnies if you’re from „certain people “?
It is the Tönnies system. FC Schalke 04 bends to the interests of its chairman. I believe Clemens Tönnies that he is Schalke through and through and that this association is close to his heart. However, there are points where his interests are no longer congruent with those of the association.
Where do these interests diverge?
For example in dealing with his racist expression. According to all the definitions that I know, this statement was racist. Large parts of the public also seem to be of this opinion. I was surprised that we even argued about it on the panel.
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