By the way...

Drumbeats and bangs

But where will the German Bundesliga be in the 2025/26 season?

(Bild: Associated Press)

"Krone Vorarlberg" author Harald Petermichl deals with phobias in the latest edition of his column "Oh, by the way...". In particular with chrematophobia, the fear of handling large sums of money, which is apparently becoming more and more of an issue at the headquarters of Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH.

The fact that someone who suffers from arachno-, ophidio-, climaco-, FIFA- and claustrophobia in equal measure will not find it particularly funny to get stuck between floors 60 and 61 in the elevator of some tower in Qatar's Doha together with a shock of spiders, a dozen snakes and Gianni Infantino should not even be considered a "bang" or "bang effect" by a major Vorarlberg news portal. In general, anxiety states classified as phobias, of which the World Health Organization lists 34 and the Duden dictionary even 54, are not exactly conducive to making life particularly enjoyable.

Clubs and fans do not yet know who will be presenting the German Bundesliga on TV from summer 2025.

(Bild: Gorodenkoff Productions OU)

The fear of money 
Of course, this also applies to a complex mental health problem called chrematophobia, which causes a high level of anxiety or disproportionate fear in those affected when it comes to dealing with large sums of money. This condition is not yet listed by the WHO, but this could soon change, as it is already a chronic problem at the headquarters of the DFL (Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH). Not so long ago, the smart managing directors Steffen Merkel and Marc Lenz managed to drive an investor project worth billions against the wall with very poor communication and are currently, apparently plagued by a severe bout of chrematophobia, in the process of blowing the next billion.

Auction is suspended
The billion-dollar poker game for the allocation of TV rights for Bundesliga matches was supposed to be concluded by the end of April, but this is now a long way off because the auction has been "suspended" by the DFL. This means that shortly before the end of the season, it remains to be seen which broadcasters will receive the TV revenue for the clubs and how much they will receive and who will be allowed to broadcast what. Another masterstroke by the Lenz/Merkel team, which is unlikely to cause much amusement for either the clubs or the broadcasters involved, as there is not much time left until the start of the 2025/26 season.

Unanimity among the scientists
Media scientists agree that the fact that this more than unwelcome drumbeat is being discussed in public rather than between the parties involved is "no evidence of professional communication management". That's even putting it nicely, and one wonders whether anyone actually expected anything other than such a bang for the buck from the DFL, which has long since degenerated into a laughing stock.