Managing director Oliver Mintzlaff of the Bundesliga club RB Leipzig is trying to smooth the waves that have arisen around the announced cooperation between the club and SC Paderborn.
“There are no economic interests or agreements of any kind with Paderborn, the cooperation is purely sporting and content-related in nature, in the sense of an exchange of expertise,” the 43-year-old told the Sportbuzzer.
The German Football League (DFL) had also “looked at the cooperation agreement and had no comments. There is nothing that threatens the integrity of competition,” Mintzlaff explained.
He therefore considers the accusation of distortion of competition made recently by his own fan scene to be “unfounded”. Mintzlaff pointed out that RB had “the clearest DNA in the Bundesliga”.
The boss of the Champions League participant added: “If there are individual groups that feel tormented in our country, then please let them stay at home. We have a huge fan base, don’t force anyone into our stadium. We are keeping a close eye on who wants to use the peaceful atmosphere for their own purposes. 99 percent of the viewers feel comfortable with us. And they don’t want pyrotechnics or politics in the stadium.”
In the course of the appointment of the new Sports Director Markus Krösche on June 4, RB Leipzig had concluded an initially undefined “long-term cooperation in the sporting field” with the losing club SC Paderborn with the aim of “supporting each other and making the best possible use of the available sporting potential”.
Subsequently, the “active fan scene” of the SCP first went on the barricades and threatened with a boycott. More than 2000 people signed an online petition against the cooperation, the SCP now wants to seek dialogue. At the same time, the leadership of the East Westphalians made it clear that the association would maintain its independence. The cooperation will focus on hospitances and an exchange in the field of scouting.
