Gary Lineker condemns Borussia Dortmund over sponsorship deal with arms manufacturer

Gary Lineker said that he will be supporting Real Madrid in the Champions League final after Borussia Dortmund signed a sponsorship deal with a major arms company.

A three-year agreement with the weapons manufacturer Rheinmetall has been announced ahead of Saturday’s Wembley showdown against Carlo Ancelotti’s Madrid.

Dortmund had been the choice of many neutral fans for the final because of their underdog status but Lineker, who played for Madrid’s arch-rivals Barcelona, says that he will now be rooting for the favourites.

Ancelotti is bidding to win the Champions League for an unprecedented fifth time as a manager while success would also extend Madrid’s record number of victories to 15, including six titles in the last 11 seasons.

“First time I’ll be cheering for Real Madrid in a Champions League final,” said Lineker, the former England captain and now the BBC’s main football presenter.

The story of Dortmund’s new sponsorship was reported alongside a photograph of Rheinmetall being displayed on their stadium in Dortmund.

Dortmund said that the agreement will see Rheinmetall gain “the use of wide-reaching advertising space, marketing rights and event and hospitality arrangements in the stadium and on the club grounds”.

Dortmund chair Hans-Joachim Watzke defended the arrangement. “Security and defence are fundamental cornerstones of our democracy,” he said. “Especially today, when we see every day how freedom must be defended in Europe. We should deal with this new [normal]. We are looking forward to the partnership with Rheinmetall and, as Borussia Dortmund, we are consciously opening ourselves up to a discourse.”

Rheinmetall’s chief executive officer Armin Papperger said that the company “share similar attitudes, ambitions and origins” to Dortmund, but the arrangement has drawn condemnation. “I am very shocked - I would never have expected that BVB would even consider entering into a partnership with an arms company,” said Michael Schulze von Glasser, managing director of the German Peace Society.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck acknowledged that Rheinmetall’s sponsorship of a football club was an unusual move but said that it “shows where we stand”.

“Ignoring the arms industry is no longer tenable in Germany due to the new reality,” Habeck said.

“We know and unfortunately have to admit that we are in a different, more threatening world.”

It is understood that the logo of the arms company will also be displayed on Dortmund’s licensed products and will be displayed on stadium advertising boards and during press conferences. It will not, however, appear on players’ shirts.

Dortmund are aiming to win their second Champions League title after beating Juventus in the 1997 final. They also previously reached the final, where they lost to Bayern Munich, under the management of Jurgen Klopp.

Dortmund supporters echoed Lineker’s concerns ahead of the final when the club’s fans unveiled a banner in the Wembley stands that read in German: “Rheinmetall – using football to become clean. Protecting [Borussia Dortmund] from sportswashing is our mission.”

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