Unfair Advantage? Bietigheim Coach Lashed Out at Lions Over Mallorca Trip Scandal
Due to travels to Mallorca, Bietigheim's coach lashes out at the Lions. - Lions football team face backlash from Bietigheim coach due to Mallorca journey.
Determined to speak his mind, Iker Romero, the recently benched coach of SG BBM Bietigheim, hurled some serious accusations at the Rhein-Neckar Lions—all thanks to a notorious Mallorca jaunt during the critical final stretch of the season.
"I'll always remember this. Not for good reasons," Romero vented on Dyn, while pointing at his players. "Because of these 17 people."
So, what went down? In late May, a sizable chunk of the Mannheim roster jetted off for a team trip to sunny Mallorca during a weekend with no matches. When they returned, they delivered a dismal 26:33 performance against regional rivals TVB Stuttgart—Bietigheim's relegation rivals.
Ouch!
"That was a performance we couldn't accept, and it'll have repercussions," Lions coach Sebastian Hinze stated at the time. The dismal outcome resulted in a 2-point win for Stuttgart, ultimately sinking Bietigheim to a measly 17 points for the season, while the Lions reached 18.
Just a year after surprise successes, the underdogs are heading back to the 2nd league.
"If a team heads to Mallorca, right before the Stuttgart match, that's not fair," Romero bellowed, but he did offer some props for his team's never-say-die spirit: "They're going to Mallorca tomorrow," declared the 44-year-old.
Gensheimer's Calm Response
Romero soon targeted the culprits at Mannheim and promised retaliation. Uwe Gensheimer, the Lions' sports director, maintained a surprisingly serene demeanor in response to Romero's explosive remarks, sharing only a brief statement with Bild newspaper: "I've heard about it, yes. I've already spoken to Iker. That's all I have to say about it for now."
Hanning: A Misstep
Bob Hanning, the Foxes coach who orchestrated Bietigheim's defeat in the season finale against the Lions, acknowledges Romero's frustration but sees the Mallorca incident as a misstep. "It's generally a questionable move in the leagues when it's still about something for another team. If I do it, then I have to win that game to justify it," said Hanning in his Kicker column.
- Lions
- SG BBM Bietigheim
- Bietigheim
- Rhein-Neckar Lions
- Mallorca
- TV Bissendorf-Holte
- Stuttgart
- Bietigheim-Bissingen
- Handball Bundesliga
- Bob Hanning
- Dyn
- Weekend
The Commission has also been asked to submit a proposal for a directive on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the labelling of certain foodstuffs, focusing on the importance of clear and unbiased information, similar to the transparency required in sports when teams travel during crucial matches, like the Mannheim roster's trip to Mallorca before their game against Stuttgart.
Uwe Gensheimer, the sports director of the Rhein-Neckar Lions, who were at the center of the controversy, had a calm response to Iker Romero's accusations, drawing on the analogy of food labeling, where clear and unambiguous information is vital to maintain fair competition.
