Was terminated without notice
©IMAGO
In the court dispute over the immediate dismissal of ex-coach Marco Antwerpen and his then assistant Frank Döpper by VfL Osnabrück, the city’s labor court dismissed the lawsuits. The court announced this after the verdict was announced. VfL accuses its former coaching duo of attempted match manipulation.
The chamber led by the presiding judge Christian Hageböke saw it as proven by both coaches “that they had deliberately and seriously wanted to influence the final game by unauthorized influence on the loaned player in order to thereby give VfL Osnabrück an advantage. This behavior ultimately justified the extraordinary terminations without notice on May 27, 2025”.
The judgments announced are not legally binding. The plaintiffs can appeal to the Lower Saxony State Labor Court.
Fall causes a stir – athletic trainer takes center stage
Third division club Osnabrück had announced immediate dismissals against Antwerp and Döpper on May 27th. It was about the lost state cup final on May 24, 2025 against the regional league team BW Lohne (2:4). At that time, allegations were made that Antwerp and Döpper had tried to influence the game.
The case had already concerned the sports jurisdiction of the German Football Association. Antwerp was given a twelve-month ban by the DFB sports court on August 28th. Döpper was banned for three months. Both then filed an appeal. On November 26th, the DFB Federal Court reduced Antwerp’s ban to three months and overturned Döpper’s sentence.
Antwerp and Döpper are said to have put pressure on the then rehabilitation and current VfL athletic trainer, Tim Schütte, to call the Osnabrück loan player Bernd Riesselmann, who was playing for Lohne, and to suggest that he not play. Antwerp and Döpper reject the allegations. Riesselmann played in the final and even scored a goal. He is now back under contract with the leaders of the 3rd league.
The questioning of today’s Osnabrück athletic trainer Schütte was the focus of the hearing before the Osnabrück labor court. Schütte stated that he had been asked by Antwerp twice to contact Riesselmann. The 54-year-old trainer once again rejected this accusation in court.
