Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 9y

Bayern Munich admit mistakes over Saudi Arabia trip

Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has acknowleged that the club made mistakes over their trip to Saudi Arabia after widespread criticism over their failure to address human rights issues in the country.

Bayern had come under heavy pressure from German politicians, their own fans and parts of the media for visiting Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Hilal in Riad on Saturday despite international outrage over recent events in the Gulf state, including the planned flogging of blogger Raif Badawi.

On Wednesday, FIFA Executive Committee member Theo Zwanziger added to the criticism, telling FAZ he was not surprised to find out that "commerce beats ethics" and that "when in doubt the moneybag is closer" for Bayern.

In a written statement on the official club website, Rummenigge said that Bayern "have noted diverse critical commentaries in recent days" and added: "FC Bayern Munchen as a club condemns all forms of cruel punishment that are not consistent with human rights, as in the current case involving blogger Raif Badawi, a critic of Islam. It would have been better to clearly address this on the occasion of our match in Saudi Arabia."

Rummenigge refused to accept that his club bore the full weight of responsibility for political matters in Saudi Arabia.

He said: "Leading German politicians will also be travelling to Saudi Arabia in the near future. The authority to establish policy in this matter fundamentally lies with politics."

He said Bayern "are a football club and not political policy-makers" but stressed that they, along with everyone else, "ultimately bear responsibility for compliance with human rights."

He concluded: "On behalf of FC Bayern Munchen I would again make clear: Our club in particular has always opposed all forms of discrimination, violence and racism. We have been and will continue to be strong advocates of tolerance.

"When football goes on its travels it is always in part to promote international understanding, and human rights are an integral value within this."

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