Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 7y

Borussia Dortmund fan group: We have to show we condemn RB Leipzig

Borussia Dortmund fans have announced plans to hold a new protest against RB Leipzig inside the Westfalenstadion on Saturday, with many having also refused to travel to the away fixture last September.

Leipzig are currently second in the Bundesliga, 11 points clear of Dortmund, in their first ever top-flight season, but the Red Bull-founded club have been targeted by various fan groups throughout the season, and an alliance of BVB supporters have said they will take their protest against "the construct RasenBallsport" into the stadium this weekend.

A number of Dortmund fans did not travel to Leipzig for the away game in September, instead attending a home match of BVB's second team, while fan groups from clubs including Cologne and Hamburg have made shown animosity toward the newly founded team.

A statement released by the fan alliance "Sudtribune Dortmund" said the group feel they have to "make it perfectly clear that we condemn the construct RasenBallsport and the football they embody."

The group added that "football has dwindled into a business with perverse excesses" and said: "RB Leipzig are the best proof that football is headed into the wrong direction. Let's show the world that tradition, loyalty and an independent fan culture are so valuable you can't weigh them up against all the millions."

The statement did not say how they planned to protest.

Meanwhile, Red Bull's head of global soccer, Oliver Mintzlaff, has told Sport Bild he has a "neutral, sober and appreciative" relationship with Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke but that he would prefer to model his clubs on Bayern Munich.

Mintzlaff said: "Over the years, Bayern successfully build professional structures to be successful permanently. All of their operating numbers have developed to the level of international records.

"In talks I feel that there are many things we can learn a lot from. And we like to be guided by the best."

Mintzlaff praised the slim and efficient structures at Leipzig, who have bypassed Germany's 50+1 rule -- which stipulates that more than 50 percent of a club must be owned by its members -- by having only 17 members with voting rights.

"They lead to a quicker decision making process than at other clubs," Mintzlaff said. "If [sporting director] Ralf Rangnick had to present every new signing to 10 entities and then every club member were to make an official statement about it, we would not be as quick as we are now."

In the Bundesliga, club members have no say in transfers, although some clubs have to get the approval of the supervisory board or other club entities before signing a new player.

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