Enlarge image
Uli Hoeneß: “I didn’t realize this for a long time”
Photo:
Ulrich Gamel/dpa
Bayern Munich's honorary president Uli Hoeneß has expressed alarm at the poll numbers for the AfD. When asked whether he was worried about the party, Hoeneß said in an interview with the "FAZ": "I wasn't aware of it for a long time. But since the AfD has played an increasingly larger role, I have become more and more aware of it.
The 72-year-old continued: »I watch a lot of NTV in the evenings. Then there are documentaries, now and then about the Nazi era: about Auschwitz, about Birkenau." Every time he gets upset and thinks to himself: “Man Meier! If our country goes anywhere near that direction again – that must never happen!”
Hoeneß had already made his position clear in his speech at the memorial service for Franz Beckenbauer when he spoke about the summer fairy tale of 2006 and the German fans. »Then I thought: Oops, someone might get the idea that I'm thinking along the lines of the AfD. Then I wrestled with myself for a long time about whether we should say that at a memorial service," explained Hoeneß: "But it was so important to me. So I said that. And you know what: I would say that again tomorrow.”
Sport also plays an important role for Hoeneß in the fight against the right. “Sport cannot remain silent on such elementary topics,” demanded Hoeneß: “That’s why I spoke.”
sol/sid