The danger is great to get lost in the minutiae. Perhaps also for this reason the interest group of professional athletes, Athletes Deutschland, on Wednesday highlighted fundamentals when it demanded the immediate lifting of the start ban against speed skater Fridtjof Petzold and his retention in the national team. In the current proceedings in German speed skating, Athletes Deutschland explained, it is about fundamental deficits in the federation’s leadership. The individual case thus, from the viewpoint of those affected, goes beyond the specific problems of the small Olympic federation.
The statement was deliberately timed. A report by the federal government on the situation within the German Speed Skating and Short Track Association (DESG) was announced for Wednesday afternoon in the Bundestag Sport Committee.
The ARD investigation into misstandings within the federation and DESG President Matthias Große’s press conference last Thursday continue to generate significant waves. Allegations of financial opacity and, in particular, the intolerable financial burden on elite athletes imposed by the federation are in the air. Große tried to refute the accusations in the aforementioned press round and to discredit the two ARD journalists responsible for them, whom he had banned from the premises, as liars. The latter presented new documents on Tuesday to again refute Große’s allegations. The conflict is being fought in very fine-grained detail.
It concerns approximately 59.90 euros in personal co-contribution that speed skaters were also required to pay according to internal emails. Große had previously vehemently denied such charges.
Starting Ban After Criticism
The deficiencies at DESG are now tangible. At the latest since last Friday, when Fridtjof Petzold, due to his criticism of the federation, received a provisional starting ban and his status as a national squad athlete was suspended with immediate effect. Petzold had spoken about structural problems within the federation during the Winter Olympic Games and criticized that he had been poorly cared for in Milan.
“Athletes must be able to criticise without risking their squad affiliation,” explained Johannes Herber, managing director of Athletes Deutschland. The DESG sends contradictory signals.
He also made clear that, despite its own contrary portrayal, the federation has not presented a good image for some time: “In recent years, speed skaters have repeatedly turned to us and pointed out misdevelopments within the DESG.”
The intimidation attempt by Große, to silence critics by excluding them, does not seem to be working. On Tuesday, speed skater Felix Maly announced that, in solidarity with his teammate Petzold, he would not participate in the All-Around World Championship in Heerenveen, Netherlands.
Athletes Deutschland uses the DESG incident to call for the necessity of an independent clearing system in German sport that protects athletes from arbitrary actions by federation presidents. That would certainly be conducive to improved performance.
The Sports Committee in the Bundestag, which was still in session at the time of publication, should therefore address not only the concrete events at the DESG but also how, in principle, power abuses in small associations can be prevented. That was the mandate Athletes Deutschland gave to the Parliament on Wednesday and which goes well beyond the scope of a single meeting.
