Wednesday, November 03, 2021
Clear edge from ex-national coach
“Red card” for those who do not show solidarity with vaccination refusals
The former national biathlon coach Müssiggang makes a clear announcement before the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. He would show refusal to vaccinate the “red card”, but there is no legal basis for this. For the time being, there is no threat of a Kimmich case among German winter sports enthusiasts.
The former national biathlon coach Uwe Müssiggang would not want unvaccinated people in his team. “If I had the legal basis, there would be a red card for those who refuse to be vaccinated,” said the 70-year-old. “But I can’t exclude him from the team,” said the most successful national coach in biathlon history with a view to the guidelines of politics.
The successful trainer in retirement would take an athlete unwilling to vaccinate to his chest. “I would strongly advise an athlete to get vaccinated.” Also to protect the team from corona infection. “It cannot be that the others share the risk for someone who does not want to be vaccinated.” Müssiggang, who celebrates its milestone birthday on Friday (November 5th), would get the third prick immediately.
Despite the human rights situation: no Olympic boycott
Most of the German Olympic athletes are already fully vaccinated, said Dirk Schimmelpfennig, the executive board member of the competitive sport of the German Olympic Sports Confederation. A case like that of the professional soccer player Joshua Kimmich, who has voiced concerns about vaccinations, is unlikely to occur among German winter sports enthusiasts.
According to the current status, unvaccinated athletes have to go into strict quarantine for three weeks after entering China. “Nobody wants to quarantine, that’s clear,” says Denise Herrmann. For Müssiggang, the former cross-country skier is one of the German medal candidates in biathlon at the Winter Olympics in February.
“Denise Herrmann is always able to win a medal. Franziska Preuss too. Benedikt Doll’s performance as well. You have to see whether it works in the end,” said Müssiggang, who directed the German ski hunters at the Olympics have won eight gold, eleven silver and five bronze medals. This time, too, the ski hunters will go to the Olympics “to win medals and will be happy about every medal, regardless of whether it is gold, silver or bronze – but it will be difficult,” said the former successful coach.
In view of the human rights situation, Idleness would not fly to the Olympics with a good feeling. “If I were still the national coach and had to go to Beijing, I would have a problem with simply saying, we’ll sweep it under the table and play the games at any cost. But you can’t boycott the athletes. If you do, you have to the whole world boycott the games. “