Bayern fans put pressure on club to end Qatari deal

BERLIN, NOV 24: A group of Bayern Munich fans are putting pressure on the club to end their controversial Qatari sponsorship deal amid claims of human rights abuses.
Bayern signed a five-year sponsorship deal with state-owned Qatar Airways in 2018 which the German media claim is worth around 20 million euros ($22.5 million) per year to the Bundesliga leaders.
The airline's logo is on the sleeve of Bayern's famous red shirts.
However a group of fans wants club president Herbert Hainer and CEO Oliver Kahn to cut ties when the Qatari deal expires in 2023.
"We'll wash anything clean for money," was the slogan on a banner which appeared during a recent Bayern home game alongside a cartoon of Hainer and Kahn feeding money into a washing machine.In the run-up to the club's annual general meeting on Thursday, disgruntled fans have tried to impose a motion demanding the non-renewal of the deal.
Attempts to get an interim injunction were rejected by a Munich regional court, but the group say their fight goes on.
"We want to obtain preventive measures to avoid a renewal of the contract," said Michael Ott, a spokesman for the group of fans.
"Qatar is guilty of massive human rights violations and there are heavy suspicions of corruption in sport.    -AFP