Osnabrück coaching duo found guilty in match-fixing case | OneFootball

The German FA has found former VfL Osnabrück coaches Marco Antwerpen and Frank Döpper guilty in a match fixing case. The DFB  control committee seeks  suspensions and fines for both men.  Former Osnabrück head coach Antwerpen is to receive a 14-month-ban from football and a €300,000 fine while Antwerpen’s former assistant Döpper is to receive a four-month-ban and €500 fine. The duo have one week to appeal the verdict.

Antwerpen and Döpper are accused of pressuring a member of fourth-tier SW Lohne’s medical staff to keep a crucial player out of a Cup Final match last May. Lohne were due to face Osnabrück in the Lower Saxony State Cup Final match on May 24th. Prior to the match, the Osnabrück duo pressured Lohne athletic trainer Tim Schütte to keep Bernd Riesselmann out of the match.

Riesselmann was working on loan at Lohne from Osnabrück. Schütte testified that he was twice asked by Antwerpen and Döpper to feign an injury for Rieselmann. The player himself reported to his agent that he was instructed to fake an injury by Schütte after pressure from Anterwerpen and Döpper. Both Osnabrück coaches were immediately terminated after the incident was brought to the club’s attention.

The two coaches are already suing their former club for damages in a German labor court. Arguments in this case are due to be heard in December. One assumes that an appeal of today’s verdict will not be long in forthcoming. The defendants’ lawyer Horst Kletke has tried to make the case that his clients were trying to protect the player and not influence the course of the match.

This defense did not work in today’s ruling. Rieselmann – who has since returned to Osnabrück – ended up playing in the match. The 20-year-old worked off the bench and scored the final goal in John’s 2-4 away victory over their regional opponents. He’s featured twice thus far for Osnabrück in the 3. Liga this year under the new head coaching regime of Timo Schultz.

GGFN | Peter Weis