Union Berlin won't comment on sarcastic banner held by Bayern fans
Berlin (dpa) Union Berlin and club president Dirk Zingler have refused to comment on an sarcastic banner held by Bayern Munich fans during the match between both teams on Wednesday evening.
"We're not going to say anything about it," Union spokesman Christian Arbeit told dpa in response to a corresponding request on Thursday.
As part of a protest against external investors coming into the league, Bayern fans held a banner saying: “It’s better to be a winner than to express criticism of the Stasi pig who is courting investor.” Zingler was also shown with a pig’s nose in a Stasi uniform.
The background to the banner is Zingler's past and his recent stance on the matter of an investor joining the German Football League (DFL).
During the GDR era, the Union Berlin president served for three years in a guard regiment that was subordinate to the Stasi, the state security service of East Germany.
Zingler had previously explained that he didn't know that the guard regiment was under the control of the Stasi and denied any connection with the service, which was known to use espionage, among other things, as a way of maintaining state authority.
Zingler has been Union president since 2004 and said last December that he's open to investors in German football in general if the type of deal is right.
The 36 DFL clubs from the Bundesliga and second division voted in favour of a billion-euro deal, which allows a strategic partner to enter the league for a maximum term of 20 years.
The two-third majority of 24 clubs was just reached, but Union voted against the deal because "we don't think it's good for the league. Because we believe that we are making a decision for a period of 20 years that we cannot yet foresee."
