German regional court set to rule on Hoffenheim’s Roger Wittmann stadium-ban on Friday | OneFootball

The next chapter in the sordid case of controversial Hoffenheim-associated agent Roger Wittmann is scheduled to unfold on Friday. A regional court in Heidelberg will rule on a lawsuit filed by Wittmann and former Hoffenheim academy head Dirk Mack. The two close confidants of club patron Dietmar Hopp have been banned from Hoffenheim’s PreZero Arena during the current Bundesliga campaign.

Witmmann and Mack are known to have continued to steer club management into personnel deals designed to enrich both themselves and Hopp over the past few years. Hoffenheim leadership and the club’s fan-base remain incensed at the fact that Hopp and his cronies continue to exert influence despite the fact that Hopp technically returned the club to 50+1 fan ownership in the spring of 2024.

Hoffenheim officially announced that they would no longer do business with Wittmann last April. Naturally, Wittmann’s involvement with the club cannot be completed severed as the agent and his ROGON sports management company still represent current TSG professionals such as Umut Tohumcu, Tim Lemperle, Fisnik Asllani, and Arthur Chaves.

The club thus went one step further, instituting the stadium ban in early August. Witmmann and Mack filed a lawsuit against the stadium prohibition, challenging Hoffenheim to offer up more specifics on why the two are not permitted to attend the matches. The Bundesliga club will present its official arguments whilst the plaintiffs proffer theirs in the morning. A ruling is then expected in the afternoon.

Hopp himself recently commented on the matter. When the severing of business ties with Wittmann was confirmed in April, Hoffenheim insisted that the decision had been reached with Hopp’s blessing. Hopp nevertheless noted that he did not agree with the stadium ban in an interview with Sport1 last week.

“The stadium ban for Roger Wittmann is a huge mess,” Hopp said. “but there was nothing I could do. We are close friends. Many thought I initiated this, but it’s exactly the opposite. The others have 51 percent, I have 49. That’s why I couldn’t fight it”

Hopp’s interview came a couple of days after the Hoffenheim 50+1 shareholders – in direct response to news of Wittmann and Mack’s lawsuit – issued a statement fully backing the decision to keep the duo out of the PreZero Arena.

The 85-year-old club patron and his well bankrolled footballing project are nowhere near on the same page anymore.

“We stand behind all decisions made by our club management without reservation,” the statement read. “The decision is correct and the measures are well thought out.“

GGFN | Peter Weis