Bayern Munich, who face Lyon in a Champions League semi-final on Wednesday, have fired a coach from their youth academy amid a police investigation into allegations of racism.
The coach, who was
not named, has had his contract terminated “by mutual agreement”, the German
league and cup champions said in a statement late Monday.
The sacking is “the
first result of an internal survey currently under way” at the youth training
academy, it added.
Bayern Munich boss
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said last week he was “furious” after hearing of the
allegations, first reported by the ARD broadcaster.
The coach is
accused of making racist and other discriminatory comments in a series of
messages, which he initially denied but later admitted, according to German
media.
He had been a youth
coach at the club since 2003 and had been in charge of children’s and youth
teams since 2006, according to the weekly Der Spiegel.
He made
discriminatory comments based on skin colour, nationality, religion and sexual
orientation, Spiegel reported.
These comments “do
not correspond at all with the values that Bayern Munich represents”,
Rummenigge said after police in Munich opened an investigation into the
allegations.
Bayern Munich was
founded by German Jews in 1900, but all Jewish managers and players were
excluded after Hitler came to power in 1933.
In June, not long
after the death in the US of black man George Floyd at the hands of a white
police officer, the entire team were pictured wearing t-shirts bearing the
slogans “Black lives matter” and “Red card to racism”.
The club also
launched a major anti-racism campaign in March, following incidents in German
stadiums.
