Embattled Schalke chairman Toennies steps down after 19 years

FILE PHOTO: Clemens Toennies, president of German's first division Bundesliga soccer club Schalke 04 stands on the pitch during a minute of silence for late team manager Rudi Assauer at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, February 6, 2019. Picture taken February 6, 2019. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

BERLIN (Reuters) - Schalke 04 chairman Clemens Toennies on Tuesday stepped down after 19 years amid a COVID-19 outbreak at one of his meat factories and a dismal Bundesliga season for the club.

Fans had been demanding Toennies, a billionaire meat producer, to resign for months with the team in free fall after the winter break.