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Rheinmetall | Not in the mood for black and yellow sportswashing
Weapons are not a common commodity – Borussia Dortmund fans have rightly made that clear. The club ends the deal with Rheinmetall.
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Will be switched off again until next season due to pressure from BVB fans: Rheinmetall perimeter advertising in the Dortmund stadium. Photo: IMAGO/Adrian Schlüter The Düsseldorf arms manufacturer Rheinmetall is sent off. As it became known on Friday, the football club Borussia Dortmund will not extend its sponsorship partnership with Rheinmetall beyond the summer of 2027. As justification, BVB cited the ongoing criticism from the ranks of the supporters. “We know the criticism from our members and some fans,” said BVB managing director Carsten Cramer.
In this way, the fans also went against the original course of their president Hans-Joachim Watzke, who was responsible for the deal in 2024 as the managing director at the time.
The decision is logical. Tanks are not a commodity like any other. They're not in line with the Playstation or food delivered to your door. Rheinmetall products are not purchased by private customers. They are made available to states by order. In the stadium, the audience is canvassing for approval. It is therefore primarily about the social normalization of deadly technologies.
People can have different opinions on the need for armaments and defense. The step now triggered by the Borussia fans does not necessarily express radical pacifism. But it is a break with the complacent attitude with which countries like Qatar and Saudi Arabia are often accused of “sportswashing”. The BVB fans point the finger at themselves. Meaning: “We cannot normalize weapons production by setting up gangs in front of our black and yellow curves.” This attitude should also be a minimum consensus beyond the stages.
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