The official start of the season with the 5:2 win over Valencia was not the dominant topic among VfB Stuttgart fans for long at the weekend. A few hours after the final whistle, a much more serious matter dominated the discussions: the fact that Atakan Karazor, against whom a woman had filed a complaint for “sexual assault”, was released after six weeks in custody in Ibiza, caused controversy. And also the fact that VfB squad planner Sven Mislintat had emphasized that the defender would of course take part in training again after his return.
“This is a person who has not even been charged,” he quotes table football mislintat. Karazor, 25, is “clearly our player and a full member of the team”. In addition, he has “no understanding” for it, said Mislintat, when a person is prejudiced on social media against whom no charges have even been brought.
Since Spanish law only allows the suspect to have contact with his family and his lawyer while he is in custody, VfB was unable to speak directly to Karazor until the weekend. However, the footballer had informed his family living in the Ruhr area and his advisor that he denied the allegations against him.
As soon as he starts training again in the middle of the week, there should be a conversation about the allegations. However, Mislintat’s statements indicate that he should not have heard anything different in the short telephone conversation with Karazor than before from his advisor: Karazor denies the allegation of sexual coercion, which the woman maintains, however. It is unclear whether and, if so, when charges will be brought.
The persons entrusted with the matter in the club, i.e. Mislintat, coach Pellegrino Matarazzo and managing director Alexander Wehrle, can be trusted to have thought through the dimension of the matter. Together with the former sports director Thomas Hitzlsperger and President Claus Vogt, they made sure that the club, which was once conservative, recently spoke out clearly against racism, homophobia and for more diversity. So you should be aware of how tricky it is when such serious allegations give the impression that a club is confusing the victim with the perpetrator. If Karazor is innocent, however, a suspension would be a rather scandalous prejudice. If the allegations against him are confirmed, a contract termination would be the only logical consequence. Accordingly, Mislintat’s confession may well be understood as one with reservations, as a leap of faith for an employee for whom the presumption of innocence must apply until proven otherwise.
Many fans would have apparently already found it better if VfB had reacted the other way around in the pending proceedings and had temporarily excluded Karazor from training operations, referring to the allegations made in the matter. That would be difficult from a labor law standpoint. Finally, an employer needs justiciables if he withholds contractually fixed rights from an employee.