The steward at Gate 1 of the Bremen Weser Stadium, a friendly and courteous employee of SV Werder, had a job on Saturday that nobody had to envy him for. He bravely held the position while this nasty drizzle came from the sky, which only exists in the north of the republic. The folder evening was exhausting for another reason. One of his tasks is to check the stadium goers’ vaccination records, which is why he had to find his way in the middle of another downpour: There were bad and predictable jokes.
“It’s not fake, really not,” said the first visitor when he presented his digital vaccination certificate and identification document. The next one stated that he had heard that the upcoming game was an event according to 4-G regulations: “Vaccinated, recovered, tested and faked.” The steward forced a pained smile before he indicated that he had heard sayings of this kind a dozen times. He added: “What a crazy day, ey, I’ve never seen anything like that.” He paused for a moment. “Just insane.”
The 1-1 draw against Schalke was only worth a side note for Bremen
You could see that the folder was in a mediocre mood, he’s an ardent Werder fan. And indeed: the previous events were aptly described with “madness”. It was about a suspected fraud, a visit by the police to the Weser Stadium and questions of integrity that go beyond football. That Bremen received an almost disreputable penalty in the game against FC Schalke 04 and scored 1: 1 in the last second, under floodlights, in the second division duel of the relegated traditional clubs? That could hardly make one forget what had happened in the days before.
It all started on Thursday with a press release at 10:27 p.m., which already suggested that it was an incident of particular importance. The title of the communiqué on Werder’s website: “Statement on the vaccination status of Markus Anfang”. The club announced in this way that an investigation had been initiated against the trainer of the Bremen professional team because of the use of an allegedly forged certificate with which he wanted to prove a corona vaccination. What was noticeable, however, was that only Markus Anfang took a position, who was “irritated” and “annoyed” and protested that, like “every other citizen”, he had received a vaccination and had done nothing wrong.
On Saturday morning, the beginning was no longer the Werder Bremen coach.
Some kind of admission of guilt? Beginning has not commented on the allegations since. That has to do with the ongoing investigation. The 47-year-old, for whom the presumption of innocence still applies, terminated his contract with the club at least at his own request – together with his assistant Florian Junge, who also seems to be involved in the matter. This releases SV Werder from the obligation to continue paying for the coaching duo’s salaries. The image damage is already enormous for the traditional club from Osterdeich, where people like to think about the so-called “Werder family”: It should go through thick and thin, even if the ship has already rocked.
Those responsible for Werder have distanced themselves from their former coach
Immediately after the investigation became known, Frank Baumann, Werder’s managing director for the sports department, demonstratively stood behind the trainer. A comprehensible reflex in what is still an opaque conglomeration. On Saturday Baumann then stated that “further developments” and a “different situation” had led to the break with the “most important employee” of SV Werder. Before the game against Schalke, CFO Klaus Filbry already spoke of “very clear circumstantial evidence”.
And indeed: There are not only some indications that the accused may have committed a criminal offense with which they, as persons of public interest, faked a vaccination. A fatal signal in times of soaring infection numbers. They also lied to the club, its fans and the public – and displayed remarkable audacity in the process.
The first discrepancies surfaced at the end of last week when the Bremen health department got the corona case of Werder defender Marco Friedl on the table. The authority set to work: tracking the chains of infection, checking the vaccination status of the contact persons, because non-vaccinated people have to go into quarantine in such a case. All routine. But only until a closer look was taken from the beginning in the yellow vaccination booklet. The batch number of the vaccine could obviously not be assigned, and one of the two vaccination appointments overlapped with an official obligation of the trainer. Did the beginning get a forged document? The health department was suspicious and filed a criminal complaint.
The beginning, so reported CFO Filbry, had assured to the end that he had been vaccinated and that everything was correct. Those responsible in Bremen should have doubts about this version at the latest when the police presented to the Bremen office on Friday, including the order to search the house and ask for cooperation. The beginning and assistant coach Junge immediately went to the Weser Stadium to hand over their vaccination certificates, said Filbry. A little later, the coaching duo called sports director Baumann and asked for the contracts to be terminated.
“I have been vaccinated myself, but everyone can make their own decision,” he said at the beginning of just under a week ago
What Filbry also said: Anfang, who moved from Darmstadt to the Weser before the season, expressed reservations about a vaccination as early as the summer. At that time, as a club, they entered into a dialogue with the coach, which is hardly surprising, as Werder had vehemently promoted vaccinations and only allowed their own fans into the stadium according to the 2G model. In the fall, the club management approached, said Filbry, and informed them that he had been vaccinated. The coach later made this public, for example in an interview less than a week ago: “I have been vaccinated myself, but everyone can make their decision,” said the beginning of the image. Is it all just a hoax?
In any case, the damage is already immense for SV Werder, for its image, sporting and financially as well. After relegation, the beginning was considered the ideal person for the coaching position in Bremen, he got a pen from those in charge with which he should draw a long line. Until further notice, the team will be headed by co-trainer Danijel Zenkovic, he was already on the sidelines against Schalke.
And the transfer fee of 400,000 euros, which was allegedly paid to Darmstadt so that the clammy Bremer could sign their dream coach before the season? “The Markus beginning file is closed to us,” said Filbry. The public prosecutor’s office is apparently just getting started.