DFB mute amidst overt moves to sack sick Coach Voss-Tecklenburg

 

MUNICH – German Football Federation (DFB) president Bernd Neuendorf has refused to comment on reports that Germany women’s team coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg is to be replaced following her decision to sit out upcoming matches due to ill health.

“I ask for your understanding, Martina Voss-Tecklenburg is ill. Respect and care dictate that we shouldn’t speculate about this,” Neuendorf told broadcasters ARD on Tuesday.

Voss-Tecklenburg will not take charge of the team for Nations League games against Denmark and Iceland later this month. Assistant coach Britta Carlson will manage the side.

The games are the first since Germany were dumped out of the World Cup in the group stage. A review of what went wrong in Australia and New Zealand will also be delayed due to the 55-year-old’s absence.

But broadcasters Sky on Tuesday reported that there many indications that Voss-Tecklenburg won’t return to her post after her recovery. The report said that the majority of players who were part of the 2023 squad have spoken out against her continued employment.

Carlson strongly denied Sky’s information that she had conducted a survey among the national players to find out whether they wanted to continue working with Voss-Tecklenburg.

“The allegation is completely unfounded and calls into question my long-standing integrity as a an assistant coach,” she said.

Voss-Tecklenburg’s husband, Hermann, told the Bild newspaper that “the World Cup took a lot out of her. She came back from Australia already sick, she was mentally and physically weak.”

Qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics is via the Nations League this time and only two European teams can qualify.

After the opener in Denmark on September 22, Germany will play the Icelanders in Bochum four days later.