"Bayern Munich's AGM ends in tumult over Qatar sponsorship," 26 Nov 2021

Bayern Munich’s annual general meeting ended in tumult with members yelling and booing the club’s directors for refusing to discuss its sponsorship arrangements with Qatar...

Tempers frayed following club member Michael Ott’s unsuccessful attempt to lodge a motion calling for a vote on Bayern’s contentious sponsorship agreements with Qatar. Ott, and many other Bayern fans, contend that the partnership with Qatar Airways through 2023 is damaging the club’s reputation because of alleged human rights abuses in the Persian Gulf country as it prepares to host next year’s World Cup.

Ott’s initial attempt was blocked on technical grounds because of a club statute by Munich district court, but he had hoped to put it forward anyway with the support of more than 75% of the members at the AGM...

Ott said the Bayern club officials should have allowed the members discuss the merits of the motion “and then maybe just do a non-binding survey.”...

At a Bundesliga game on Nov. 6, Bayern fans displayed a huge banner criticizing the club for the “sports washing” of human rights abuses in Qatar through its partnership with Qatar Airways. The club has also been holding mid-season training camps in Qatar since 2011...

Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann defended the club’s stance at the time, saying it tried “to influence things through dialogue and not by exclusion or looking the other way.”...