10 months ago
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Hertha Berlin have announced the tragic passing of club president Kay Bernstein at the age of 43.
Bernstein had taken over the role in the summer of 2022, becoming the first and only ultra fan group member to rise through a club’s ranks to become president in Germany.
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In a club statement, the second division giants said: “Today, Tuesday, Hertha BSC received the terrible news that President Kay Bernstein died unexpectedly at the age of 43.
“The entire club, its committees and employees are stunned and deeply dismayed.
“The Hertha family mourns with Kay's survivors and their thoughts are with his family, friends and companions during this difficult time.
"We ask that the family's privacy be respected following this terrible event.”
Born in Marienberg, Bernstein moved to Berlin a year before Germany’s reunification, and at school, he founded the Harlekins Berlin '98 ultra fan group.
An industrial mechanic by trade, he went on to become an entrepreneur and the owner of a communications and events company while increasing in importance at Hertha.
In 2022, with the club in financial turmoil, benefactor Werner Gegenbauer stepped aside leading to presidential elections which Bernstein surprisingly won.
Promising to ‘give the club a little bit of its soul back’, Bernstein beat huge favourite CDU politician Frank Steffel to the post.
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Responding to the news, Steffel wrote on social media: “The news of Kay Bernstein’s death completely shocked me.
“In numerous encounters and conversations, I learned to appreciate him as a warm person. I'll remember him fondly."
A ‘child of the north curve’, Bernstein was a lead singer among the club’s most dedicated fans, and was even temporarily banned from the Olympiastadion on three different occasions.
Hertha flirted with bankruptcy and were dealt a tough relegation in recent years, but Bernstein prevailed in giving the club its soul back.
German outlet Kicker surmised: “Berlin, which had fallen somewhat out of love with Hertha BSC, has taken this traditional club back to its heart.
“That the alienation between the club and the active fan scene has been overcome, that this club, which has lived grotesquely beyond its means for years, has regained its footing - that is Bernstein's lasting merit.”
