The IOC president interferes in the leadership crisis at the DOSB. Thomas Bach wrote a warning letter to the DOSB board and presidium around Alfons Hörmann. He calls for clarification.
In his letter, the full text of which is available to the SWR, Bach writes: “In these days, which is the 15th anniversary of the founding of the DOSB, I am very concerned about its credibility and thus its functionality”. As a “heartfelt request”, Bach demands “an unconditional, comprehensive clarification of the allegations in question”. The conclusions would then be “to quickly draw any necessary conclusions, if possible before the Olympic Games in Tokyo.” Bach, himself president of the DOSB from 2006 to 2013, writes “in his mere capacity as DOSB honorary president” and not as IOC president.
The German Olympic Sports Confederation neither wanted to deny nor comment on the receipt of the Bach letter to SWR Sport. A good two weeks ago, employees of the DOSB complained in an open but anonymous letter about the management style of DOSB President Alfons Hörmann. After that, a “culture of fear” prevails in the DOSB. The ethics committee of the DOSB, with the former Federal Minister of the Interior Thomas de Maiziere as chairman, is investigating the allegations. The sports associations have asked for clarification as soon as possible.
Relationship between IOC and DOSB “needs healing”
A few weeks before the start of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, the DOSB house row reached the International Olympic Committee. The DOSB had already got into a conflict with the IOC in February. Before the German Rhine-Ruhr Olympic bid for 2032 even got off the starting blocks, the IOC had already declared the Australian metropolis Brisbane to be the preferred candidate. For this, DOSB President Alfons Hörmann publicly criticized the IOC at the beginning of March. At that time, the IOC responded with an official letter. The chairman of the so-called “Future Host Commission”, Kristin Kloster Assen, wrote to Hörmann that he should “ensure that the misinformation is stopped”.
It is precisely the relationship between DOSB and IOC that Bach comments in his letter: “As became clear in the previously unanswered letter from the chairman of the IOC Future Host Commission that is known to you – in the well-understood interest of the DOSB, this requires healing, especially in this regard Position in international sports organizations has unfortunately continued to suffer. ”
Bach closes his letter with a conciliatory message and the request to interpret the letter as it is meant: “A friendly advice and a heartfelt request from friends who all advocate the same goal of strengthening the social significance of sport and our DOSB. ”
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