Lieberknecht keeps promises
Second division coach takes in refugees
03/16/2022 12:59 p.m
Football coach Torsten Lieberknecht declared his willingness to take in refugees from the Ukraine in his house almost two weeks ago. Now he keeps his promise. A woman and her son now live with the Darmstadt coach and his family.
Torsten Lieberknecht, coach of second division soccer team SV Darmstadt 98, has taken in Ukrainian refugees. This was confirmed by his club, reports Hessischer Rundfunk. Accordingly, a woman and her son live in the house of the Lieberknecht family.
Almost two weeks ago, he spoke remarkably about the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine at a matchday press conference. “With the Lieberknecht family, the doors are basically open to every refugee from Ukraine. If we can be active, then the least we can do is say: We give others help – whether it’s monetary or taking in people,” he said.
When asked whether he would really take in refugees at home, Lieberknecht confirmed: “Definitely! That’s out of the question for us.” According to his own statement, he had previously spoken at length with his family about the war and made the decision to want to help. A woman from the Darmstadt club environment has now made the contact, it is said. The trainer and his employer did not want to share any further information with the public.
Millions of people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion. Around 147,000 refugees have arrived in Germany so far. Districts and municipalities are therefore asking for support in distributing and caring for people.
Lieberknecht has been the Darmstadt coach since this season. He became known as the coach of Eintracht Braunschweig, he coached the professional team from 2008 to 2018, after which he became head coach at MSV Duisburg. His current club Darmstadt 98 is currently number one in the table – and would thus be promoted to the Bundesliga. However, the fight for promotion is extremely tight. The Hessians are level on points with FC St. Pauli and Werder Bremen in second and third place.