Bayern vs. Bayern: Legal battle over freedom of speech

The members of Bayern Munich fan group Munich's Red Pride follow their club home and away. Some even traveled to Lisbon this week, despite the fact that they weren't allowed into the stadium to watch their club become champions of Europe for the sixth time, beating Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 at the Estádio da Luz.

Back in Munich, however, one member was fighting a very different battle. The Wednesday before, on the day that Bayern had beaten Lyon in the semifinal, he had been in court appealing a ban handed to him by Bayern Munich back in March, ostensibly for smuggling a banner into a reserve team match and protesting against Monday matches.

Dr. Gerhard Riedl, representing Bayern, argued that the banner infringed stadium regulations since it didn't have a fire safety certificate, and that it was the second such infringement.

But the supporter and his lawyer, Dr. Andreas Hüttl, suspect an ulterior motive, namely that Bayern are attempting to silence a vocal critic of the club's sponsorship links to the state of Qatar, whose sovereign wealth fund also owns Paris Saint-Germain outright.

"In the last year, over a hundred banners have been displayed and there has never been [any punishment]. Even a person caught with pyrotechnics only gets a two-year ban but now someone gets an unlimited ban for not having a fire certificate?" questioned Hüttl, speaking to public broadcaster Sportschau.

"At its core, this is about freedom of expression in the stadium. We're talking about an opinion which is quite clearly covered by article five [of the German constitution] covering freedom of expression: 'Bayern Amateurs against Monday games.' Nothing disrespectful, nothing insulting, a simple statement of opinion."

Bayern and Qatar

In January this year, during Bayern's tenth consecutive winter training camp in the Gulf state, the supporter in question helped organize an event in Munich entitled "Qatar, Human Rights and FC Bayern: hands out, mouths shut?" at which he and two Nepalese migrant workers spoke about working conditions in the country which is set to host the 2022 World Cup.

Last year, the same supporter had unsuccessfully submitted a motion at Bayern's annual general meeting to insert a commitment to human rights into the club's constitution.

And at Bayern home matches, Munich's Red Pride have regularly displayed banners criticizing their club's engagement in Qatar, including one in January 2019 which depicted Rummenigge and then club president Uli Hoeness with euro signs in their eyes talking about "outstanding training conditions" while slave laborers toiled in the background (see image above).

Rummenigge insisted at the time that there has been a "positive development in the legal situation of immigrant workers" and "improvements in workers' rights" but critics still accuse Qatar of using Bayern Munich to "sportswash" – or launder – the country's image.

'The end of freedom of expression in the stadium'

The topic took on extra magnitude given the identity of Bayern's opponents in the Champions League final on Sunday night.

While Qatar's involvement in Munich is limited to shirt sponsoring and training camps, its engagement in Paris is on a different level altogether. In 2011, Qatar Sports Investment (QSI), a subsidiary of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, took over Paris Saint-Germain and has since bankrolled the club to seven Ligue 1 titles in eight years.

On Sunday, they appeared in the Champions League final for the first time. Back in Munich, meanwhile, Dr. Hüttl and his client are looking forward to the next hearing on October 15, when CCTV footage will be studied and at least one witness will take the stand.

"When such a banner is used as an excuse to prevent a club member from exercising his rights and to prevent a fan from attending games, that's the end of freedom of expression in the stadium," said Hüttl.

No critical supporters, no opinionated members, no uncomfortable banners — Bayern Munich became champions of Europe without any such distractions on Sunday night.