Germany’s storied Bayern Munich soccer club is sticking by its president, despite a state court’s announcement on Monday that he will stand trial on charges of tax evasion.
Minutes after the court in Munich announced that Uli Hoeness would be tried in March on charges of evading millions of euros in taxes, the board of the club that swept the European, German national and league titles last season, stated unequivocally it saw no need for its longtime president to step down.
“The board of directors of FC Bayern Munich is unanimously of the opinion that Uli Hoeness should remain as head of the club’s board of directors, despite the opening of legal proceedings against him,” it said in a statement.
The court announced on Monday that it had decided last week to indict Hoeness, 61, despite his decision to turn himself into authorities this year over taxes owed on a previously undeclared bank account in Switzerland. The court declined to give further details, citing privacy laws, but German media have reported that he owed the government several million euros.
In a statement to the online edition of the German sports magazine, Sport Bild, Hoeness said he was “surprised” at the court’s decision, but vowed to fight his case.
“Together with my lawyers, I will work very hard in the coming four months to see to it that our argument convinces the court,” Hoeness was quoted as saying on Monday.
The trial is to open on March 10, with four dates scheduled for testimony. Tax evasion in Germany carries a punishment of up to five years in prison, or a fine that is to be determined by the court.
When the news broke last spring that Hoeness, a giant in the sports world of soccer-crazy Germany, had maintained a previously undeclared private bank account in Switzerland for years, it shattered his image as a straight-talking, upstanding sports hero. As a forward, he helped West Germany win the 1974 World Cup on his home turf. After retiring, Hoeness became the general manager and then president of Bayern Munich, helping the team to build its financial reserves to a level rarely seen in European club soccer.
His decision to go public with his story triggered a national discussion over social justice and equality, coming months before a Parliamentary election.
Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had cultivated close ties to Hoeness, swiftly distanced herself from the sports manager.
Not so fans of the club, which went on in the following months to become the first club in Germany clinch all three titles in one season. Like the board of directors, they rallied around their president, who told Sport Bild that he had received many letters expressing support for his decision to continue with the club.
“I made this mistake and have admitted it as a private individual, but I do not think that my work for Bayern Munich has suffered because of it,” Hoeness said.
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