When VfB Lübeck received the notification at the beginning of December 2020 that it would not receive any money from the 200 million program “Corona aid of the federal government for professional sport” to compensate for lost ticket income, disappointment and anger were great among the third division promoters. The federal government is now extending its offer, offering compensation for expected ticket cancellations until June 2021 and also for expected losses until June 2021 upon request. The state would compensate a maximum of three million euros on request. “We will go home empty-handed again”, says VfB board spokesman Thomas Schikorra. But now you are defending yourself.
VfB letter to MP Günther and all parliamentary groups
On this Saturday (January 6th) Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister Daniel Günther and all sport-political spokesmen for the parliamentary groups were written to. Schikorra: “We asked for support in two ways. Firstly, regarding a change in the provisions of the guidelines for corona aid professional sports. And also because of a liquidity aid, such as the handball professional clubs received. Because as of now, apart from Holstein Kiel, we are the only Schleswig-Holstein professional club that is apparently supposed to get through the pandemic without any liquidity aid. “For comparison: The handball players at VfL Lübeck-Schwartau received around 250,000 euros from the federal budget and 100,000 euros from state funds.
Above all, however, the criteria that the federal government uses to award its aid are angry in Lübeck, because VfB, as a climber in the application, had to operate with audience comparison figures from the regional league, which of course are well below the third division numbers actually achievable. Even now with the new edition of the “Coronahilfe Profisport” the criteria have not changed, VfB has to enter the race with figures from the first half of 2019.
Schikorra speaks of a threat to existence
Schikorra: “We have received consistent support for our point of view in a number of discussions with politicians across all parties. Unfortunately, nothing has happened at the Ministry of the Interior in Berlin so far. The problem for newcomers from the amateur sector has been known there for a long time without any changes being considered necessary. So one accepts with seeing eyes and for no objective reason existential threats that could easily be avoided. “
FDP-Kubicki: Warning to Interior Minister Seehofer
The sports policy spokesman for the FDP in the state parliament, Jörg Hansen, has meanwhile turned to his party friend, Wolfgang Kubicki from Kiel, Vice President of the Bundestag. At the beginning of the week, he intervened in writing and directly with Horst Seehofer, the responsible minister. Ex-footballer Kubicki reminds sports friend Seehofer, the ex-handball player from Ingolstadt, of the idea of fair play. It is important, writes Kubicki, “that the granting of aid does not damage“ fair play ”in sporting competition”. VfB Lübeck is treated like a regional league, although it is a third division. But that distorts competition and represents “a questionable economic inequality of treatment between clubs in the same league”. Kubicki urges you to revise the funding guidelines and adapt funding practice accordingly. And he warns against using funding from the Federal Ministry of the Interior to “unduly influence” “progress and whereabouts” in the 3rd division.
VfB warns against claims for damages
In the first award phase, the responsible Federal Administration Office received 420 applications for state support. 64 096 415.27 euros in funding had been approved (around ten million rejected). For example, VfB league competitor FSV Zwickau received EUR 800,000 while Lübeck was left with around EUR 1.3 million despite a verifiable pandemic damage. In the second award phase, for which applications can be submitted from March 1, are still around 135 million euros. If the award criteria are not changed, the VfB will also examine legal steps. Board member and lawyer Schikorra: “One question will be whether the equity guideline, if it leads to arbitrary interference in sporting competition and treats the same facts unequally, would stand up to legal scrutiny. Claims for damages can also become an issue. “
From Jürgen Rönnau
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