DFB Vice President Hermann Winkler. © Sebastian Willnow/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa/Archivbild
The disrespectful statements by DFB vice-president Hermann Winkler about Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelensky continue to cause a stir. Now the association is reacting sharply.
Frankfurt/Main - DFB boss Bernd Neuendorf has sharply condemned the disparaging remarks made by his vice-president Hermann Winkler about Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelensky and announced further talks.
He considers Winkler's approach to be incompatible with the principles of the German Football Association, Neuendorf said. The DFB president found the statements about Zelensky unbearable and insulting and made this very clear to Winkler in a conversation, it said.
The case is to be further discussed on Wednesday at a conference of regional and state association presidents, the DFB announced. Winkler had described Zelensky as a "former Ukrainian actor" in a post on Sunday, without mentioning the name and office of the Ukrainian president.
Zelenskyy arrived in Berlin on Sunday and for the first time since Russia's attack on Ukraine. Subsequently, he and his people were honored with the Charlemagne Prize in Aachen. "On the day that he and the Ukrainian people were awarded the international Charlemagne Prize, the mocking symbolism towards the Ukrainian president is intensified," Neuendorf said of Winkler's remarks.
Winkler apologized
Winkler had announced on Monday via Facebook that he would not write the entry again. "I apologize for this and also for the irritation caused. I firmly reject putting myself in the "Putinversteher corner" because of this," the 60-year-old wrote. He condemned the aggression of Russian President Vladimir Putin, but did not personally agree with everything Zelensky was doing. Dpa