Hertha termination process: Bobic is said to have passed on secret documents

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Fredi Bobic is currently in court with Hertha BSC

Photo: Harry Langer / dpa

In the legal dispute with former managing director Fredi Bobic, the Berlin football club Hertha BSC is basing the extraordinary termination on the 52-year-old's behavior in a television interview and a suspicious termination. According to the court, it was reported to someone at Hertha that Bobic had passed on secret documents. No further information was provided.

In this case, Bobic would have violated a confidentiality clause. This is how Hertha justified the announcement of a dismissal on suspicion. The second division club had terminated Bobic at the beginning of 2023, first regularly and then extraordinarily.

In the event of an extraordinary termination, Hertha would have had to listen to Bobic about this unproven suspicion and provide sufficient information about the allegations beforehand. The hearing did not take place. The ex-manager's lawyers argue that the invitation was sent to Bobic at too short notice. The court saw arguments for both sides. This could also be interpreted as a waiver of a hearing.

A judgment was not initially made in the Berlin Regional Court on Monday, but could follow after consultations. A continuation of the process is also possible. Then Bobic could also be heard as a witness. On Monday, like Hertha, he was also represented by his lawyers.

Bobic's outburst of anger discussed in the interview

Bobic had also reacted angrily to a reporter's question immediately before his termination after the derby defeat against Union Berlin. "If you ask again, you'll get slapped," the 52-year-old said to an RBB reporter as he walked away. He apologized for the incident shortly afterwards.

Here the court showed understanding for the possible emotionality after such a game. It is questionable whether this should really be interpreted as a serious threat.

However, Hertha lawyer Johan-Michel Menke pointed out that Bobic had signed a code of conduct with Hertha. This obliges all employees to treat other people internally and publicly with “dignity and respect” and to “respect the independence of journalists and the media.” However, Bobic's lawyers argued that this code of conduct was submitted to the court too late.

The dispute continues on several levels

When it comes to ordinary termination, the court tends to judge that it is legal, said Zilm. Bobic would then be entitled to a contractually agreed severance payment if the extraordinary termination was declared unlawful.

An out-of-court settlement is also still possible. However, both sides are obviously far apart financially. The Bobic side rejected an initial offer from Hertha. It was “clearly far from the minimum,” said lawyer Matthias Weidmann.

This is not the only case in the district court. According to a court spokeswoman, the second document procedure initiated by Bobic is about the possible obtaining of an enforcement order against Hertha. All appointments there have so far been cancelled, most recently due to a request for bias from Hertha.

If Bobic receives this enforcement order, Hertha would have to pay out the manager's salary, which has been frozen for around a year. However, if the chamber comes to the conclusion in follow-up proceedings that the terminations were legal, the 52-year-old would have to pay back the money.

ast/dpa