München – The former DFL managing director Andreas Rettig (59) sees the development of the soccer extremely critical.
Andreas Rettig (59) was one of the biggest critics of the World Cup in Qatar. © Christian Charisius/dpa
He has noticed “a decreasing emotional interest in the high-gloss games of these inflated competitions for years – and I think that I don’t have this opinion exclusively. It doesn’t take me anymore,” said Rettig before the round of 16 duel in the Champions League Tuesday (9 p.m./Prime Video) between Paris St. Germain and Bayern Munich in an interview with Münchner Merkur/tz.
“Indifference is already the next level, I’ve overcome anger,” he added: “If greed and sportswashing are the driving force, the love of football falls by the wayside.”
According to Rettig, “this only increased with the World Cup in Qatar. The lack of interest, the fact that people no longer feel the emotional closeness, the campfire romance that Oliver Bierhoff invoked doesn’t work – I see that more and more. The campfire has gone cold.”
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It is therefore “clearly the wrong way to legitimize this economically ruinous rat race,” emphasized the long-time Bundesliga manager and appealed “loudly” to politicians:
“Football’s self-healing powers will not be enough. Politicians must provide a framework for this madness to stop. In England there are these signals. I’m very happy about that! If we don’t take countermeasures, football will end up in a dead end.”
After the World Cup in Qatar, everyone must be aware “that this is no longer about sport. It’s about the abuse of sport for political purposes. Everyone has now unmasked,” Rettig continued.
He therefore called for “greater consistency from those responsible. We have to say no! Because it is a fairy tale to believe that sport can lead to social changes in the respective country. Only civil society can bring about changes,” says Rettig.
