Forced relegation after game cancellations – Football club Berlin Adler continues to sink into chaos
Thu 05.09.24 | 21:37 | By Marc Schwitzky
IMAGO / Foot Bowl
Video: rbb Der Tag | 05.09.2024 | Uri Zahavi | Image: IMAGO / Foot Bowl
It was supposed to be a weekend of celebration for the Berlin Adler. But the chaos of the last few weeks has cost them a lot: nerves, the coach, officials – and their league membership. The ones who suffer most are the players. By Marc Schwitzky
Imagine it’s the final – and nobody goes. The Berlin Adler U20s were actually supposed to play the Junior Bowl – the final for the junior championship in German football – next weekend. It would even have been a home game for the Adler, with the decision for the title being made in the Berlin Poststadion. But the Wedding club’s A-youth team, which had qualified on sporting grounds, will not play – and will receive severe penalties for doing so. The reason for this is a whole series of internal conflicts in the club that extend far beyond the U20s.
Former coach Cavanaugh makes serious allegations against the club
A dispute had been brewing for some time – between the coaching team and the club officials of the Eagles. Zachary Cavanaugh was appointed head coach of the U20 and men’s teams before the current season. In terms of sport, things were going well, the players and the coaching team formed a close-knit team, and the new approach of relying on many home-grown players was paying off.
But over time, tensions between the coaching staff and the management team increased. One of Cavanaugh’s accusations is the way the board treated players. “I recently had two players leave the club because they were treated badly by the management,” the 37-year-old told rbb. According to Cavanaugh, players and coaches have repeatedly had to leave the club without adequate notice and without giving reasons.
The American also claims that the club is knowingly delaying bankruptcy. “Financially, we are heavily in debt,” he says. The board denied the allegations in the person of member Roman Motzkus.
Police operation – the situation escalates
On August 23, the situation at the football club escalated. Sports director Florian Raffel called the police because he allegedly felt threatened by Cavanaugh and another member of the coaching team. “He knew that if the police came and he said he felt threatened, a police report would have to be written. And that’s all they would need to fire me,” said Cavanaugh, who was reported and officially fired shortly afterwards, describing the situation from his perspective.
Motzkus added on Wednesday as a reason for the dismissal: “We had several incidents in which volunteers were insulted and slandered, there were verbal attacks on the board.” The environment had been “poisoned” by Cavanaugh. “Motions of no confidence were made, a petition was started to vote the board out of office – which is not possible for statutory reasons.” A week after the petition, Cavanaugh had to resign.
Players stand behind Cavanaugh
Cavanaugh is not alone in the interview with rbb. He is accompanied by ten players from the men’s and youth teams – it seems like a symbolic act. “We are supporting our head coach because he was treated incorrectly,” explains Hendrik Scharnbacher, men’s quarterback. “He was there for us all year, addressing problems that management did not listen to. That is why we are here and showing him that we stand by him.”
The players’ support for their sacked coach goes so far that the U20s first symbolically removed the wings on their helmets – the symbol of the eagles – for one game in protest and then went on a full strike shortly afterwards. They will not take part in the Junior Bowl this weekend, and the men will not play in the season finale either. Firstly out of loyalty to Cavanaugh, and secondly because the chaos in the club consumed an entire week of training and the players say they were unable to compete at 100 percent, both physically and mentally. “If a coach like that is missing in game week, then we players ask ourselves how we are supposed to manage without a single coach,” said Scharnbacher.
According to him, the management even asked some players if they could help out as coaches for the final. After much deliberation, Scharnbacher declined because, at 22, he did not feel ready for such a task. “We had actually found compromises, but no one came to the talks,” explains Motzkus, who initially assumed that the teams would compete again.
Motzkus and sports director Raffel are also no longer Adler officials
Club legend Motzkus also no longer holds an official position with the Eagles. The 55-year-old resigned from the board in recent days. “I am said to be one of the main reasons why the players and coaches are dissatisfied – there was a real rebellion. Nobody is bigger than the club, which is why I am not important and why I am resigning to clear the way for new people,” he explained to rbb. His resignation was also said to be a reaction to the actions of sporting director Raffel.
The same Raffel who called the police on his second day in office and had Cavanaugh banned from the premises – and now no longer works for the Eagles himself. The next one. “I was in office for two weeks before I received notice of termination without notice. The reason is flimsy. It was a parking space termination. I was told that I had worked too much, had picked fights with too many people and was too authoritarian,” the 53-year-old told rbb.
Florian Raffel, former sports director of the Berlin Adler. (Photo: IMAGO / Funke Foto Services)
He became sports director to act as a mediator in resolving the power struggle within the club. “However, I had to realise that the board had not really done the things to turn the justified protest of the U20 players into a truce,” said Raffel. “I was told to hold back. ‘We’re playing good cop, bad cop’ – that’s the kind of crap I was told. When you’re new and bound by orders, that’s what you do first.” So Raffel also became a red rag to Cavanaugh – and vice versa.
Raffel changes sides
In the meantime, however, Raffel has completely changed sides. When he realized that the Junior Bowl was in danger, he started to act in his own way. “I wanted to reinstate the coaching team by virtue of my office. I can convert a termination without notice. I absolutely wanted the U20s to be allowed to play.”
When this came out, Motzkus and President Mario Affeldt resigned in response. They felt deceived. Something that Raffel is very sorry about. He claims that General Manager and Vice President Denis Milanovic told the club that it was Raffel who had fired the coaching team in the first instance. “That’s bullshit and my lawyers will take action against it.”
Raffel has even officially withdrawn the complaint against Cavanaugh and other people – the document is available to rbb. “Zachary and I have spoken to each other over the phone in recent days. We realized that we were being played – by the board and the general manager,” said Raffel, whose anger is now clearly directed against Milanovic and the board of directors that appoints the board.
The players are the big losers
The events at the Eagles are happening every day. No more Cavanaugh, no more Motzkus, no more Affeldt and no more Raffel. The top two teams in Berlin are currently without a coach. The board now consists of just three members: Milanovic, the new president Christoph Sonka and a financial director, whom Sonka brought in himself. Milanovic is also said to have taken over the position of sports director.
The new team has the huge task of rebuilding the Eagles. Due to the cancelled final games of the season, the club, which according to Milanovic is undergoing an audit, will be forced to relocate by the association – probably to the 3rd division. The U20 team will also be relegated. A completely new beginning. Nevertheless, new president Sonka says: “The situation in the club is not as bad as it is often portrayed. We can do it.”
And the players? “They are the real story,” says Cavanaugh. “These are kids who go to training five times a week.” And who are now voluntarily foregoing the fruits of their sporting labor out of loyalty to their coach. At the moment, there are several truths about every controversial issue in the club that do not even come close to matching each other. It is an impenetrable tangle of perspectives and information. It is about finances, offices, relationships and emotions.
Much will only become clear in the coming days, weeks and months. Some will probably never be revealed. But there is one irrefutable truth: The Berlin Adler players, who exchanged their dream of the title for severe association penalties and now face an uncertain future, are the big losers in this story.
Broadcast: rbb Der Tag, 05.09.2024, 18:00
Article by Marc Schwitzky