“Is this here…” – This sentence cost the U19 coach his job

It is now clear why young coach Jens Härtel had to vacate his position at Union Berlin. The Bundesliga club announced on October 11th: "Jens Härtel has resigned from the position of coach of the U19 juniors of 1. FC Union Berlin. In doing so, he is drawing the consequences of a criminal complaint against him by the DFB control committee, which has applied for a ban on working as a coach for several weeks due to discriminatory statements made during training." A day later, Härtel was banned by the DFB for twelve weeks, four of them on probation, if he takes part in conflict and de-escalation training.

The crucial question: What did Härtel actually say? According to “Bild” information, the successful ex-professional coach (including Magdeburg, Rostock, Braunschweig), who has only been employed at Union since July 1st, called for a team-building measure as part of the summer training camp. Goal: Groups of players and coaches should come together again, get to know each other and gain trust. Specifically, the seating arrangement at lunch was reshuffled. When several black players gathered at one place, Härtel asked as he passed: “Is this the African table?”

Union Berlin and other bodies (including the DFB, Berlin Senate, State Sports Association) were informed anonymously about this process in a six-page letter. During the internal processing and survey, no player or employee came forward who felt discriminated against by this statement.

Härtel “asked for an apology”

Härtel said: "I made mistakes and did not live up to my role model role in the youth sector. For this I have apologized to my team as well as the coaching and support team and would like to do the same to the entire club. It was never my intention to verbally hurt anyone or even discriminate against them." In total, Härtel was sanctioned by the DFB for three verbal boundary violations. It is unclear whether he will return as Union coach.

A Union spokesman responded to a “Bild” query: “We ask for your understanding that we do not comment on details of the content.”