Switzerland announces separation
Grings stumbles over negative series – and infidelity scandal?
November 17, 2023, 4:11 p.m
Two-time European champion Inka Grings is no longer Switzerland’s national coach. The 45-year-old only took up her position with the Swiss in January and only managed one win in 14 games. But there may be another reason for her expulsion.
Inka Grings has had to retire as national coach of the Swiss footballers after a negative series. The association mutually agreed with the former German national player to immediately end the cooperation. The 45-year-old only took over the position at the beginning of this year, but only achieved one victory in 14 international matches with the Swiss. “In order to take pressure off the team and association due to current events, I decided to take this step with a heavy heart. It was an exciting time for me with many great experiences,” Grings was quoted as saying in a statement.
The involvement of the 2005 and 2009 European champion in an infidelity scandal involving Hermann Tecklenburg could also have contributed to the premature separation. The husband of ex-national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg is said to have funneled six-figure sums of money past the social security fund and the professional association as a patron and president of the Lower Rhine league team SV Straelen from 2015 to 2020. Tecklenburg has not yet commented on the allegations.
“No admission of guilt”
According to the public prosecutor’s investigation, Grings, who coached the club from 2019 to 2020, is said to have earned twice the amount that was officially stated at the time. “The accused Inka Grings was suspected of aiding and abetting the withholding and embezzlement of wages. The damage amounts to 13,350 euros,” said Johannes Hoppmann, spokesman for the Kleve public prosecutor’s office, to Bunte.
The 96-time national player, who was recently considered a candidate for the position of national coach, rejected the allegations. “I have always properly stated all payments that I have received in my tax returns. The accusation of aiding and abetting the withholding of wages is not true,” Grings told the “Bild” newspaper. It was only through the investigation that she realized “that I was supposed to have been an employee of a construction company.” At the same time, Grings confirmed that the public prosecutor’s office had offered her to stop the proceedings in exchange for the payment of “a lower amount of money”. “For various reasons, which do not constitute an admission of guilt on my part, I agreed to this. However, I cannot be accused of intentional misconduct,” she said.