Stormy times at Hertha BSC. There are motions to vote out President Werner Gegenbauer (71) at the general meeting at the end of May. And in the background candidates are forming who want to become the new president.
One of them is Kay Bernstein (41). Explosive: The entrepreneur is deeply rooted in the ultra scene, is one of the original members of the East Curve group Harlequins. This ultra formation is one of the most active in the capital and sees itself firmly rooted in football tradition: once morest commercialization, once morest modern jersey colors, once morest investors.
Bernstein’s candidacy might also have consequences for investor Lars Windhorst, who bought club shares for 374 million euros.
Photo: Andreas Gora/dpa
” data-zoom-src=”https://bilder.bild.de/fotos/teile-der-fan-szene-für-dem-ende-von-investor-lars-windhorst-und-praesident-werner-gegenbauer- 69289991085743e48617958fac937705-79948814/image/3.image.jpg”/> Parts of the fan scene are demanding the end of investor Lars Windhorst and President Werner GegenbauerPhoto: Andreas Gora/dpa
Bernstein was once a so-called capo. These are lead singers in the fan block who are allowed to stand on the fence and start singing via megaphone. In the early 2000s he began coordinating the fan scene and giving it a voice. In 2005 he was banned from the stadium for one action.
The BZ wrote: “In the game once morest Wolfsburg, sponsor Vattenfall distributed 40,000 rattles. Bernstein asked the fans to throw the shit away. A flag waver who filed a complaint once morest unknown persons was injured.”
As a reaction to the stadium ban, the Harlequins started a boycott, only then manager Dieter Hoeneß was able to settle the conflict.
Not the only action. The “Berliner Kurier” also wrote in 2005 following a game once morest Mainz 05: “On the fringes of the game, the lead singer of the fan curve, Kay Bernstein, was temporarily arrested. He was blamed for insulting cops from the fan block.”
Bernstein also appeared in public as an organizer when the Waldbühne was being cleaned, as compensation for riots and a storming of the East Curve fans around a game once morest Nuremberg in 2010 (Hertha was then sentenced by the DFB to a reduced number of spectators).
Bernstein, today the founder and managing director of the Berlin events agency “Team Bernstein”, is popular in the fan scene because he organized numerous charity campaigns for Benny Bienert, a Hertha fan suffering from leukemia.
Rumors are circulating in the fan scene that a group around Bernstein intends to publish a detailed election program shortly. The former sports director of the “Berliner Kurier” and former adviser to Union Berlin, Andreas Lorenz, is to provide advice.
In order for Bernstein to run as a presidential candidate, Gegenbauer would first have to be voted out by a three-quarters majority of the members present. In subsequent new elections, a Hertha member would have to propose Bernstein and the supervisory board would have to let him as a candidate.
The struggle for power at the capital club has begun. Hertha (approx. 40,000 members) might thus become the first Bundesliga club to be governed by an ultra from the fan scene.
Bernstein might not be reached for a statement when asked by BILD.
