BERLIN (Reuters) – The German Football League (DFL), in charge of the country’s top two divisions, on Wednesday said it was stopping a process of finding a foreign investor for a stake in its broadcasting arm amid growing fan protests.
In December, Germany’s first and second tier soccer clubs voted in favour of letting a financial investor take a stake of the DFL media arm in a deal valued at between 900 million and 1 billion euros.
But that triggered a months-long wave of protests from fans opposing the move which they saw as further commercialisation of football in the country.
They interrupted play during many matches by throwing tennis balls and candy, and unfurling banners.
“A successful continuation of the process looks impossible given the current developments,” DFL board spokesman Hans-Joachim Watzke said in a statement.
“Even if the large majority is in favour of a strategic partnership. That is why the board unanimously decided… not to continue the process and not to conclude it.”
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Ed Osmond)
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