Abuse scandal: Internal email puts BVB boss Cramer under pressure | OneFootball

After new revelations in the abuse scandal at Borussia Dortmund, CEO Carsten Cramer is temporarily withdrawing from the BVB's review committee.

There is a new development in the abuse scandal at Borussia Dortmund. As reported by BILD, CEO Carsten Cramer is temporarily suspending his membership in the club's review committee. The background is an internal email from 2022, which investigators came across during ongoing investigations.

The allegations are directed against a former high-ranking BVB manager, who reportedly abused youth players and underage fans over decades. The tabloid first made the accusations public in October 2025 and gave the accused the pseudonym Horst Jansen. The Hagen public prosecutor's office is now conducting 13 investigations against him.

After the allegations became known, Borussia Dortmund initiated an independent review. This is being conducted by the auditing firm BDO and criminal lawyers from the law firm "Knauer&". Cramer initially played a central role: As chairman of the so-called Steering Committee (SteerCo), he coordinated the steering committee that accompanies the investigation.

The 57-year-old is now withdrawing from this committee. According to BILD, a BVB spokesperson stated that Cramer has "decided to temporarily suspend his position in the SteerCo as a precaution." This is not due to any possible misconduct, but "because he is considered a potential informant for a specific matter."

Investigators see no misconduct by BVB boss Cramer so far

Specifically, it concerns an email from January 27, 2022. In it, hints from an alleged victim were forwarded. It was recommended to confront the former manager with "what he did with underage fans in the 1980s." It is still unclear how this message was internally responded to.

Photo: IMAGO

According to BILD, it is also significant that Cramer did not present the email himself when the review began in the fall of 2025. Instead, internal investigators discovered the correspondence in the club's secured data. As reported by Ruhr Nachrichten, there were already earlier indications.

Accordingly, there were "many rumors" about the former manager's alleged tendencies even then, but there was "a culture of looking the other way." However, investigators emphasize that no misconduct by Cramer has been identified so far. In a statement to the steering committee, it says: "Currently, we cannot determine any personal misconduct."

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.