ice Hockey
At the Liwest Black Wings Linz, a power struggle has unfolded around the person of manager Christian Perthaler. After internal hacking, Chairman Peter Freunschlag went on the offensive on Monday with an open letter to the fans of the ice hockey club, spoke of a struggle “commerce against ideology” and was concerned about the future in times of the corona virus crisis.
23.03.2020 18.18
Online since today, 18.18
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The bond between Freunschlag and longtime manager Perthaler seems to be broken. They only met last Friday and the club boss reported that they hadn’t come up with a common denominator. Freunschlag recently spoke out against Perthaler as a manager and also overruled his vice presidents. This decision was possible because the building contractor acts as chairman and cashier for the Black Wings.
It brought a lot of criticism to Freunschlag in Linz. The official, who has been in his function since 2008, has now resisted this. “I am now criticized by so many that I am THE dictator of the Black Wings. Yes, it is true – I have secured the club so that in the end only my vote counts. Was that a problem all these years? ”Freunschlag wrote in his open letter. He made use of it first – just at the last board meeting.
Restructuring announced
Freunschlag also announced in his open letter to restructure the club. Former players of the two-time Austrian champions should sit on the board, including a representative of the fans. With the Black Wings, the opinion of “our experts” should become more important again. Freunschlag spoke of the “Linz spirit” that should be preserved.
At the last session, the corona virus was not yet an issue, but now the pandemic is also putting everything in the background at the Linz ice hockey club, says Freunschlag. The club boss noted that he had to send all Black Wings employees into short-time work. “Whether there will be a championship in September is in the stars. Which of our many loyal sponsors can still support us is also uncertain, ”he wrote.
It remains to be seen to what extent the sponsors of Linz will approve of the announced restructuring. The former team player Perthaler is considered highly regarded. Upper Austria Insurance is a premium partner. In a reply letter to Freunschlag, which was sent to the “Oberösterreichische Nachrichten”, the general director Josef Stockinger said: “Please do not mix the current corona crisis with the existential crisis of the Liwest Black Wings Linz!” Without Perthaler, there would not be many sponsors (more). “I simply advise you to step off the smug horse.”
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