Did BVB boss Watzke let something slip? Bizarre row with NRW president Wüst | OneFootball

A recent statement by BVB boss Hans-Joachim Watzke has drawn attention, provoking reactions at the highest (national) political level. Media subsequently questioned NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst following information made public by Watzke. What happened? Here are the events of these unusual differences.

The origin of it all is a statement by Watzke, which he made in an interview with the Frankfurter Rundschau, which has nothing to do with Borussia Dortmund – apart from a portion of the fans travelling to and from BVB home games. The topic is the new construction of the Rahmede viaduct. Its predecessor was built in 1968, but had to be demolished in 2023 due to dilapidation.

Since then, traffic, which is supposed to flow north and south on the A45, has been struggling through the nearby villages, burdening the residents and causing enormous additional time expenditure on this route. But this should already end in November, as Watzke revealed to the FR, because the new viaduct would be finished earlier than planned. This was revealed to him by NRW Prime Minister Wust in a conversation.

Photo: IMAGO

Who is right: BVB boss Watzke or Wüst?

Hendrik Wüst immediately denied this date after corresponding echo from Watzke's statement in the media. However, even when a newspaper asked at BVB, Watzke did not want to revoke his stated knowledge. It is true that he discussed the "traffic situation in Lüdenscheid" with Wüst. Whether the closure of the A45 and its lifting was also discussed, the current BVB boss left open in the statement.

In the meantime, the question of whether there is an earlier date for the opening of the new Rahmede viaduct is a minor inquiry to the state parliament in Düsseldorf, to which the answer is still pending; the deadline of four weeks for this is still running. The interested public now hopes for clarification at the latest by October 4, 2025. On this day, Federal Minister of Transport Schnieder will announce the current status regarding completion at an appointment in Lüdenscheid.

Whether Watzke's statement about the reopening of the A45 in November, from which he does not back down, corresponds to the truth, will possibly be known at the beginning of October. In any case, this unusual farce should have no impact on the sporting operations at Borussia Dortmund.

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