When it came to naming the three most recent replacements for the German national handball team, the league boss also got into trouble. “Reichmann, Schmidt and … uh, who was the third? I don’t even know now. Oh, and Stutzke, they decided individually that they want to help the national team,” said Schwenker before the first main round game of the DHB -Teams against Spain, who lost on Thursday evening with 23:29 (12:14).
In view of the large number of Corona-related bad news from the German squad and the corresponding late reports from professionals, it is not surprising that even the President of the Handball Bundesliga (HBL) loses track.
Twelve national players with corona infections
The subsequent nominations of Tobias Reichmann (MT Melsungen) as well as David Schmidt and Lukas Stutzke (both Bergischer HC) were due to the corona infections as a result of the omicron wave in Sebastian Heymann (Frisch Auf Göppingen), Christoph Steinert (HC Erlangen) and tournament debutant Djibril M ‘Bengue (FC Porto) has become necessary. Otherwise, the squad would have been too small for national coach Alfred Gislason, at least for the games against Spain and Norway (Friday).
“We’re really on a roller coaster and don’t even know what’s coming in the next corner. But the situation is what it is. We currently have 12 cases and if you add one from the staff, we’re up to 13 cases,” said the 62-year-old.
“Then the question arises as to whether the competition makes sense.”
— Uwe Schwenker, HBL President
On Wednesday, the day without games between the preliminary round and the start of the main round, there was a lot of talk in the German camp. It was about the game against Spain and even about whether the DHB team should continue the EM or announce the withdrawal. The request of the team management to move the game against European champions Spain was rejected by the European Handball Federation. The EHF announced this on Thursday afternoon, six hours before the start.
DHB wants to reassess the situation every day
At a crisis meeting on Wednesday evening, the players, the head of the DHB association and league representatives agreed to try further nominations as a first step. DHB CEO Mark Schober described the situation as “very dynamic”. The situation will be reassessed every day. It could well be that when the facts are new, “a different decision will have to be made again,” says Schober.
“Ultimately, it’s not the case that the DHB would have the opportunity to simply pack up and leave the EM.”
— Uwe Schwenker
“We have checked everything from a medical, health, economic and legal point of view. And ultimately it is not the case that the DHB would have the opportunity to simply pack up and leave the EM,” said Schwenker. In this regard, the ball is primarily with the EHF and, if necessary, with the organizers, the Hungarian and Slovakian federations.
“Of course we have to respect that. And so we asked ourselves: Does it make sense to send more players? That was discussed critically and controversially,” said the native of Bremen. Since the three players who were contacted said they wanted to help the team and since the clubs also gave their consent, the decision was made to make another nomination. “But I don’t think it will go on forever. Everyone is aware of that. After all, the clubs are not particularly happy with the situation.”
SG trainer Machulla shows understanding
On the other hand, Maik Machulla, the coach of SG Flensburg-Handewitt, provided support. “The DHB does far more in terms of protection against infection” than the European Handball Federation (EHF) intended as the organizer, the 45-year-old wrote in his EM column in the daily newspapers of the Schleswig-Holsteinische Zeitungsverlag (sh:z).