She has only been in office since January: two-time European champion Inka Grings is no longer Switzerland’s national coach. As the Swiss Football Association (SFV) announced on Friday (November 17th, 2023), the collaboration with the 45-year-old has been mutually ended.
The former German national player only took up her position in the Swiss women’s team in January of this year and only managed one win in 14 games. You have yourself “It was with a heavy heart that we decided to take this step”Grings is quoted as saying in a statement.
Be it “an exciting time with lots of great experiences” been: “I really enjoyed supporting the project and saw a lot of potential in the team.”
It is unclear who will coach the Swiss team in the final two games of the Women’s Nations League against Sweden and Italy. “We will carefully look for a successor“, said SFV President Dominique Blanc.
Trouble in Straelen – Grings is also suspected
A possible involvement of the 2005 and 2009 European champion in an infidelity scandal involving Hermann Tecklenburg could also have contributed to the premature separation. The husband of ex-national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg is said to have funneled six-figure sums of money past the social security fund and the professional association as a patron and president of the Lower Rhine league team SV Straelen from 2015 to 2020.
“In my opinion, the amount mentioned in the indictment is far too high. The lawyers will now deal with that.”Tecklenburg recently told the “Rheinische Post”.
According to the public prosecutor’s investigation, Grings, who coached the club from 2019 to 2020, is said to have earned twice the amount that was officially stated at the time. “The accused Inka Grings was suspected of aiding and abetting the withholding and embezzlement of wages. The damage amounts to 13,350 euros.”said Johannes Hoppmann, spokesman for the Kleve public prosecutor’s office, to the magazine “Bunte”.
Grings rejects allegations
The 96-time national player, who was recently considered a candidate for the position of national coach, rejected the allegations. “I have always properly stated all payments that I have received in my tax returns. The accusation of aiding and abetting the withholding of wages is not true,” Grings told the “Bild” newspaper. It was only through the investigation process that she became aware “that I was said to have been an employee of a construction company.”
At the same time, Grings confirmed that the public prosecutor’s office had offered her the procedure in exchange for payment “an amount of money in the lower limit” to set. “For various reasons, which do not constitute an admission of guilt on my part, I agreed to this. However, I cannot be accused of intentional misconduct.”she said.