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There are sentences that are extreme for FC Schalke 04.

"As a reason for his decision, Alexander Jobst cited the anonymous hostility and threats that he and his family have been exposed to for some time," said the statement from the bottom of the Bundesliga table on Thursday: "With all due understanding for anger and frustration and at the same time violent statements, a red line has been crossed for him. "

Terrifying situation

What happened?

Alexander Jobst, who has been Head of Marketing, Sales and Organization at FC Schalke since 2011, no longer wants.

He is worn down by the attacks, most of which are directed anonymously against him.

That's why he pulls the rip cord.

Last week, the 47-year-old appeared before the supervisory board for the first time with the concern of terminating his employment contract.

A week later, on Wednesday evening, his request was granted: Jobst leaves on June 30th at his own request.

After eleven years, Marketing Director Alexander Jobst is leaving FC Schalke 04

Source: dpa / Guido Kirchner

“We are very reluctant to lose Alexander Jobst,” explained the chairman of the supervisory board, Jens Buchta: “The cooperation was always very trusting and professional.

FC Schalke 04 is losing a recognized expert whose success speaks for itself. "

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In fact, Jobst has done a remarkable job in the past decade: The company value of Schalke has increased considerably during this time, and the annual marketing revenues at times rose to over 90 million euros.

Although the sporting development has been the opposite in the past two years.

However, it is not the move to the second division that makes Jobst quit.

It is the currents that have gripped the club in the course of the crisis.

The extreme dissatisfaction of the fans was at the same time breeding ground for disputes, which are led by a small, but steadily growing minority, more and more personal and defamatory.

What was presented to the public by demands for resignation on banners that were repeatedly hung up on the club's premises was at the same time a perfidious campaign and a frightening situation for several board and supervisory board members.

They received anonymous e-mails with threats - some of which also extended to their family members.

Cyberbullying of the worst kind.

This wasn't just about Jobst.

The chairman of the supervisory board, Buchta, reported on it last week.

Many fans saw in him the reason why the popular Ralf Rangnick, who an opposition group wanted to enforce, did not become a sports director.

In view of the precarious economic situation, there had never been a great chance of signing Rangnick anyway.

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This is also proven by model calculations that the new CFO Christina Rühl-Hamers made for the coming season with the inevitable second division scenario: It can be assumed that the budget for the team will be between 20 and 25 million.

It happened as it had to: Rangnick canceled, meanwhile Peter Knäbel has been appointed to the new sports director.

For many fans, Buchta was still the bogeyman.

"If there are personal threats by email or SMS, some of which even contain physical threats, then perhaps we should all pause, reflect on the Schalke model and treat each other more fairly," said the lawyer who does his job exercises on a voluntary basis.

Buchta's appeal, however, failed to have an impact - at least among fanatical people, for whom the term fans is hardly appropriate.

As a result, Schalke is now losing a marketing specialist who could have provided valuable services with regard to the challenges of the future.

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Jobst, who, unlike most of the Schalke board members, had never made a secret of the fact that he considered it necessary to outsource the professional department and open it up to strategic investors, was never popular with organized fans.

Nonetheless, even his critics have to admit that he managed a well-functioning area.

It was only last week under his leadership that the previous contract with main sponsor Gazprom was extended to 2025 despite the likely decline.

"We created a foundation in the marketing revenues for the second division early on in a way that most clubs in the first division do not," said Jobst.

It was "an honor" for him to work for Schalke 04.