Monday, November 28, 2016
On Friday, Uli Hoeneß was re-elected as FC Bayern Munich’s president at the club’s Annual General Meeting, the German football club announced. Hoeneß, as the club’s president, was convicted for tax evasion in March 2014.
7,152 members attended the annual meeting, and Hoeneß won the voting with 98.5%. Hoeneß was the only candidate for president. Before the vote, he said, “I’m asking you for a second chance […] I promise I’ll do everything I can to fulfil your expectations.” ((de)) German language: Ich bitte Sie um eine zweite Chance […] ich verspreche Ihnen, dass ich alles tun werde, um Ihre Erwartungen zu erfüllen.
In February, Hoeneß was given early release from his three-and-half-year jail term. While in custody, Hoeneß spent his work-release program with Bayern’s youth academy.
1974 FIFA World Cup winner and ex-Bayern Munich player Hoeneß was elected as the club president in 2009, succeeding Franz Beckenbauer, after spending 30 years as Bayern’s general manager. In 2014, Hoeneß was tried after he disclosed he had evaded €3.5 million in taxes on money in a Swiss Bank. The trial found the sum he owed to be about €28.5m (about US$37 million then).
Hoeneß succeeded Karl Hopfner as the president; Hopfner has spent 33 years at the club. In the 2015–16 season, Bayern collected revenue of €626.8 million, which is the club’s record revenue.