The disrespectful Instagram post by DFB Vice Winkler about the Ukrainian head of state Selenskyj has consequences. The DFB President condemned the procedure as “incompatible” with the association’s principles.
The social media scandal surrounding Vice President Hermann Winkler hit the German Football Association at an inopportune time almost a month before the symbolic 1000th international match against Ukraine.
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf condemned Winkler’s disparaging statements about the Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyj on Monday with hitherto unknown severity as “incompatible” with the association’s principles. This Wednesday, the conference of regional and state association presidents is to discuss the consequences. Winkler apologized on Monday with a “however”.
Neuendorf calls Winkler
The 60-year-old had referred to Selenskyj as a “former Ukrainian actor” on Instagram and Facebook in relation to his visit to Germany on Sunday, without naming the name and office of the Ukrainian president. That was “intolerable and insulting”, Neuendorf told his deputy in a telephone call, wrote the DFB.
Winkler deactivated his Instagram account and wrote on Facebook that he would not write the entry again. His apology, “also for the irritation that has arisen”, was followed by the sentences: “I firmly reject putting myself in the “Putin-understanding corner”. He condemned the aggression of Russian President Vladimir Putin, “however, I personally don’t agree with everything Zelenskyy does.” The official was sharply criticized on social media – but not only.
Post causes criticism from all sides
On Wednesday, the heads of the 21 state associations and six regional associations will discuss how to deal with the former CDU politician, who has attracted attention several times in the past with at least questionable political statements. Winkler leads the influential Northeast German Football Association (NOFV). As DFB Vice, he could be recalled by his own regional association. The position in the Executive Committee is endowed with a monthly four-digit amount.
“We invited the Ukrainian national team for our 1000th international match to set another symbol against the Russian war of aggression and for peace,” said the conference chairman and head of the Southern German Association, Ronny Zimmermann, the German Press Agency. Winkler mocked “the Ukrainian President, according to my understanding.” The charity international match in Bremen will kick off on June 12th.
Winkler was also counted within the NOFV. “That’s not the attitude of the Berlin Football Association. Our values are different,” said the head of the association, Bernd Schultz, to the dpa. “You don’t attack a personality like a president like that,” said Schultz. The DFB is calling for donations for the people of Ukraine. In principle, however, Winkler’s political stance is known, added Schultz.
As was heard from NOFV circles on Monday, damage to the image of the entire football region with its five state associations from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to Saxony is feared. Holger Stahlknecht, President of the Saxony-Anhalt Association, expressed his surprise at Winkler. “I think that’s clumsy,” said the former interior minister of Saxony-Anhalt. He was fundamentally opposed to “politicizing sport”.
Selenskyj and the Ukrainian people were awarded the Charlemagne Prize in Aachen on Sunday. The head of state was a guest in Germany for the first time since Russia attacked Ukraine. Deleting this post on the same day “reinforced the mocking symbolism towards the Ukrainian president,” said Neuendorf.