Last one and stumped for weeks
Augsburg coach complains about bizarre relegation rule
March 4, 2024, 7:03 a.m
The Augsburg Panthers are facing a tough game. Like last year, the club doesn’t know for weeks which league it will play in next year. This puts the team at a major competitive disadvantage again. That really upsets the head coach.
Coach Christof Kreutzer criticized the mode after the Augsburg Panthers were relegated from the German Ice Hockey League. “Maybe at the end of the day the promotion and relegation hasn’t been thought through,” Kreutzer complained to MagentaSport after the 1:3 (1:2, 0:0, 0:1) against direct competitor Düsseldorfer EG. Due to the defeat, the Panthers are already last in the DEL before the last match day next Friday.
However, whether the Swabians will actually be relegated may not be decided until several weeks from now, when the DEL2 playoff winner has been determined. If this ends up being Kassel or Krefeld, Augsburg will have to go down. The Panthers were already relegated last year. Since in the end there was no champion from the second league who met the economic requirements for promotion to the DEL, the AEV ended up staying in.
As a result, Ausgburg was at a major competitive disadvantage because they were only able to plan a DEL squad much later. Potential newcomers had not known for weeks which league Augsburg would end up playing in. “I understand why these regulations should be set up this way, but whoever comes last has a really difficult time,” said Kreutzer.
But the former national defender isn’t thinking about giving up. “It’s a challenge and you have to face it. And if you don’t face it, you give up and I won’t give up,” said the 56-year-old. After the defeat against DEG, fans whistled against him and main shareholder Lothar Sigl.