Hoffenheim’s data-sharing dispute remains open with Baden-Württemberg’s data protection authority, despite the club declaring the matter settled on 9 March after receiving a private legal opinion.
Data case remains under review
- During a prolonged internal power struggle at TSG Hoffenheim, membership lists were circulated ahead of the selection of candidates to replace former club president Jörg Albrecht.
- Albrecht had stepped down, before interim successor Christoph Henssler later resigned and Albrecht returned as interim president.
- On 9 March, Hoffenheim said an expert assessment had cleared the suspicion of a data protection breach.
- The report, commissioned by the club and written by Munich professor Boris P. Paal, identified only a formal and minor error.
- Baden-Württemberg’s state commissioner for data protection and freedom of information is nevertheless still examining the case. The authority has confirmed only that its procedure has not been closed.
Dismissal cases at Mannheim labour court
The issue also matters in the employment cases brought by former legal chief Arno Metz and former senior employee Asmahan Gamgami. Both are challenging their dismissals at the Mannheim Labour Court’s Heidelberg branch.
Hoffenheim alleges that Metz and Gamgami, working with Henssler, used the distribution of member data to construct an attempted removal of sporting managing director Andreas Schicker, then the club’s only remaining managing director.
Metz and Gamgami rejected the allegation of an attempted coup at the hearing. They accused the other side of presenting events misleadingly and argued that financial planning for the current season had not been completed when the then e.V. board around Henssler considered removing Schicker.
Hopp family office named in hearing
Hoffenheim’s counsel Dr Martin Duncker told the court that the club had received no response from the data authority despite enquiries. He said such matters are sometimes not pursued further.
An official outcome now carries added weight because the Heidelberg hearing also addressed the transfer of membership lists to the family office of club financier Dietmar Hopp. Hopp no longer holds the voting majority required under Germany’s 50+1 rule.
