GERMANY: FOOTBALL / SOCCER - Bayern Munich fans support disgraced Hoeness who delivers sausages to lurking photographers

Record ID: 669660

  • Title: GERMANY: FOOTBALL / SOCCER - Bayern Munich fans support disgraced Hoeness who delivers sausages to lurking photographers
  • Date: 14th March 2014
  • Summary: BAD WIESSEE, GERMANY (MARCH 14, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF FORMER BAYERN MUNICH PRESIDENT ULI HOENESS' HOUSE IN BAD WIESSEE, SOME 50KM SOUTH OF MUNICH HOENESS, DRESSED IN WHITE SHIRT, SITTING ON TERRACE AS OTHER PEOPLE JOIN HIM PHOTOGRAPHERS IN WOODS PHOTOGRAPHER WORKING ON LAPTOP COMPUTER, CAMERAS NEXT TO HIM ON BENCH VARIOUS OF PHOTOGRAPHS OF HOENESS ON TERRACE IN CAMERA'S VIEWFINDER SIGN NEAR ENTRANCE READING "PRIVATE PROPERTY - NO TRESPASSING!" VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF HOENESS' HOUSE WOMAN WITH DOG, CARRYING WHITE PAPER BAG, WALKING PAST WOMAN HANDING PAPER BAG TO PHOTOGRAPHERS, ASKING THEM TO PLEASE TAKE IT, OPENING BAG AND SAUSAGE SANDWICH, TELLING PHOTOGRAPHERS "JUST TO SHOW YOU WHAT'S INSIDE: NO HAND GRENADES!" / PHOTOGRAPHER ASKING WOMAN TO PLEASE THANK HIM, ADDING 'WE ARE JUST DOING OUR JOB," WOMAN HEARD SAYING "HE KNOWS" WOMAN WALKING OFF PAST HOENESS' HOUSE SAUSAGE SANDWICHES IN ALUMINIUM PAPER PHOTOGRAPHERS TAKING PICTURES OF THEIR LUNCH SUPPLIED BY HOENESS MUNICH, GERMANY (MARCH 14, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF BAYERN MUNICH HEADQUARTERS (SOUNDBITE) (German) BAYERN MUNICH FAN, LUISA STROBEL, SAYING: "I think his decision to accept the jail term and to quit Bayern Munich (as president and chairman) was right. I guess in the background he will still have a say in Bayern Munich. He will stay loyal to Bayern Munich." (SOUNDBITE) (German) BAYERN MUNICH FAN, SEBASTIAN UHLERT, SAYING: "I think it's a pity. I think he did a good job as president. It's a pity." PAN ACROSS BAYERN MUNICH HEADQUARTERS SIGN READING "NO PUBLIC TRAINING TODAY" GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL WALKING PAST AT TRADE FAIR EVENT WIDE OF NEWS CONFERENCE PHOTOGRAPHER TAKING PICTURES (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN CHANCELLOR, ANGELA MERKEL, SAYING: "Of course I will not comment on court decisions but I can say that the fact that Uli Hoeness has accepted the verdict the way he did merits a lot of respect." PAN FROM MERKEL SPEAKING TO REPORTERS
  • Embargoed: 29th March 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA8IZIGJNQ16I0Y90BTCNCEUZBT
  • Story Text: Disgraced former Bayern Munich president and chairman Uli Hoeness earned himself praise from fans and Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday (March 14) after his decision to accept a 3-1/2-year prison term for evading 27 million euros ($37.6 million) in taxes.
    A day earlier, Hoeness, 62, a household name in his country and friend of Merkel, had admitted evading taxes on income earned in secret Swiss bank accounts but hoped for leniency in one of the most scrutinised cases of its kind ever in Germany.
    On Friday, photographers and camera crews were camped near his house south of Munich when a woman appeared with a bag full of sausage sandwiches intended for the reporters and paid for by Hoeness.
    "Just to show you what's inside: no hand grenades," the unidentified woman joked.
    One of the photographers asked the woman to "please thank him," adding "we are just doing our jobs."
    "He knows," the woman replied before she walked off again, accompanied by her dog.
    In Munich, Bayern fans outside the club's headquarters expressed support for Hoeness.
    "I think his decision to accept the jail term and to quit Bayern Munich (as president and chairman) was right," said Luisa Strobel.
    "I guess in the background he will still have a say in Bayern Munich. He will stay loyal to Bayern Munich."
    Another Bayern fan, Sebastian Uhlert, said "I think it's a pity. I think he did a good job as president. It's a pity."
    Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters at an event in Munich that "of course I will not comment on court decisions but I can say that the fact that Uli Hoeness has accepted the verdict the way he did merits a lot of respect."
    Hoeness, a former star footballer adored by Bayern Munich fans, had been a popular TV talk show guest and ironically had spoken out for higher taxes and railed against tax evasion.
    The case hinged on the question of whether Hoeness, who as a player helped West Germany win the 1974 World Cup, cooperated fully with his voluntary disclosure.
    The court decided he took too long to provide information, and it was riddled with errors.
    His case profoundly shocked Germany, where tax evasion is considered a serious crime, and prompted thousands of tax dodgers to turn themselves in.
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