Ismaik ally predicts Löwen crest could return to 1860 shirt

Hasan Ismaik’s close aide Biel Ballester Relat says the lion crest could return to TSV 1860 Munich’s shirt, BR24Sport reported. He also discussed the investor’s possible future at the Munich football club and the dispute over the crest’s marketing rights.

Relat, who served on 1860’s supervisory board from last autumn as Ismaik’s representative, said he wanted to clarify reports about him in recent weeks. He repeated allegations previously made by Ismaik, saying the club’s registered association acted against 1860’s interests.

Relat said he had found the association to be a “group of friends and families” whose members were unable to work seriously or set concrete goals. The club has denied the allegations.

He also acknowledged mistakes on the investor’s side, saying they should have appointed a German who understood the football system when Ismaik bought into the club. The investor’s side had sponsored 1860 for 15 years without control over its investment, he said, because it had not understood the 50+1 rule, which gives club members a voting majority over external investors.

Relat partly rejected a report by the Süddeutsche Zeitung that he had exceeded his powers at 1860, but conceded that some of the report was accurate. “I was part of the team that advised Manfred Paula and tried to point things out to him,” he said.

After 1860’s forced relegation, the parent club terminated its cooperation agreement with Ismaik. The Jordanian investor is currently challenging that decision in court, but Relat said he saw no future for Ismaik at 1860. “They don’t want us here,” he said, citing 15 years of miscommunication.

The dispute also affects the club’s lion crest. The crest is currently absent from the professional team’s shirt because the merchandising rights are held by a merchandising company associated with Ismaik’s brother Yahya. The team is instead using a historic crest from the football department.

1860 has said the lion will return “once the legal requirements have been met”. Relat also said he hoped the club could wear the crest again, calling for all sides to negotiate and resolve the dispute professionally.