MUNICH: Retired defender Jerome Boateng on Saturday pulled out of a planned coaching internship at Bayern Munich after fans voiced their objection due to the 2014 World Cup winner being found guilty of assaulting a former girlfriend last year.
The former Bayern and Germany defender, who played for the club between 2011 and 2021, had discussed a short internship with coach Vincent Kompany.
“Following the recent discussion regarding myself, I have decided to focus on my issues such as the A training license.... that is where my focus is,” he said in a social media post addressed to Bayern and Kompany.
“Your focus should be solely on the pitch and on extending this 13-match winning run.”
Bayern beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-0 on Saturday to bag their 13th win from 13 matches across all competitions this season.
“I am thankful to the club leadership and you, dear Vincent, for giving me trust and the opportunity to be part of that,” Boateng said.
Bayern fans had opposed his planned internship after the player was handed a suspended fine and a warning last year by a Munich court which found him guilty of premeditated bodily harm against his former partner.
An online petition, headlined “Setting borders against misogynistic violence: Jerome Boateng should not be allowed back to Bayern Munich” had collected several thousand signatures.
The 2024 trial was the third in the bodily harm case.
The 37-year-old Boateng, who made 76 appearances for Germany between 2009 and 2018, spent 10 years at Bayern after joining in 2011 from Manchester City where he had been a teammate of Kompany. He helped Bayern win nine Bundesliga titles and two Champions League trophies.
Boateng retired last month, last featuring for Austrian side LASK Linz where his contract was terminated by mutual consent in August.
Boateng pulls plug on planned Bayern internship after opposition from fans
https://arab.news/22uqs
Boateng pulls plug on planned Bayern internship after opposition from fans
- “I am thankful to the club leadership and you, dear Vincent, for giving me trust and the opportunity to be part of that,” Boateng said
- Bayern fans had opposed his planned internship after the player was handed a suspended fine and a warning last year by a Munich court
The world needs to respect African football, Mali coach Saintfiet says
- “I think the world needs to respect African football” Saintfiet told Reuters
- “Football is not only played in England, or not only played in Germany or in Italy”
BAMAKO: African football deserves greater respect, Mali coach Tom Saintfiet said, after FIFA’s surprise decision to delay the release of players to their national teams ahead of this month’s Africa Cup of Nations.
With less than three weeks until the tournament in Morocco, FIFA announced on Wednesday that clubs needed to release players only from December 15, a week later than the standard international window.
The 35th edition of the biennial tournament, which runs from December 21 to January 18, was originally scheduled for the northern summer to avoid clashing with the European club season, but was later moved to winter.
“I think the world needs to respect African football” Saintfiet told Reuters in a Zoom interview on Wednesday.
Asked about the most suitable timing for the competition, he said: “There is never a perfect solution. If you talk, it’s in the middle of the season, then you think about the west European countries, the majority of them, but they are not ruling the world of football.
“Players who play in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Russia, they are at the end of the season, they have finished the season. So football is not only played in England, or not only played in Germany or in Italy.
“I think Africa has to do what they feel is the best. It has to do with climate... and I think the rest of the world has to start respecting Africa... there are rules (about) two weeks before the tournament and it’s never perfect.
“I mean if there’s a World Cup in June, July, there are other leagues who have to stop. Norway is in the middle of the league, Japan is in the middle of the league, Russia is in the middle of the league, or they are not playing World Cup,” he added.
FRIENDLIES CANCELLED
FIFA’s decision forced Mali to cancel planned friendlies before facing Zambia on December 22, followed by hosts Morocco and Comoros in Group A.
“We will see our players six days before the tournament. We have a different situation... All our players are foreign-based players, so it’s a big consequence for us,” said Saintfiet.
The 52-year-old Belgian coach, who also holds a Gambian passport, will participate in the tournament for the third time, having led Gambia to the quarter-finals in 2021 before they made an early exit in 2023.
He hopes Mali can go far, despite facing Morocco, who reached the 2022 World Cup semifinals, with two teams qualifying from each group.
“Morocco is the big favorite. Fantastic team, good development, fourth in the World Cup and now the host... we are not afraid of Morocco,” added Saintfiet.
“We really look forward to that game. But first we need to face Zambia and we need to be also focused in the last game against Comoros. So every game will be tough.”
The coach aims to restore the success of a team who finished second in 1972 and won bronze medals in 2012 and 2013.
“The aim is to go to the semifinal. We said that when I signed the contract. We are not scared to say that. We know there are many teams in Africa who can reach the semifinal,” said Saintfiet.
“We have to show Africa that we have very good players. And I think we have really good players. I hope everyone will be available. And I think I added as a coach also some tactical discipline and hopefully it’s good enough to reach our goal to play a minimum of the semifinal.”
Mali is the seventh African team Saintfiet has coached, after Namibia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Malawi, Togo and Gambia. When asked why he preferred Africa, he said he had chosen it willingly.
“Many European coaches come to Africa because they have no chances in Europe and they are having bad performances or no future anymore. For me, coming to Africa was a real choice. To make a career in Africa and because I love Africa.”
