Scandal at ÖTTV: The official, the unknown being

There are officials in table tennis too . So far, so surprising. Someone has to look after the athletes, organize the events, do the paperwork, conduct the background discussions. In table tennis, at least in German table tennis, the officials mostly remain invisible; the most you see are the national coaches, who now travel to every major tournament for individual competitors and have to coach there. They sit at the back and look after Patrick Franziska or Ying Han, as was clearly seen last weekend at the Europe Top 16 Cup in Montreux. The result is that no one coaches when two Germans have to compete against each other (the Swedes and French have the same problem). Which, as was also evident in Montreux, has happened quite often these days.

In this respect, professional table tennis, which has become even more professional, commercialized, globalized and even neoliberalized in recent years, and has done so successfully so far, is still a few steps away from professional tennis. Table tennis is also primarily an individual sport - doubles and teams are increasingly being given secondary importance, and the problem of mixed doubles is also present in table tennis - but we are not yet at the point where the professionals are left to their own devices and provide themselves with coaches and other all-round support. There is simply not enough money for that.

However, other phenomena of officialdom can be observed in table tennis, which is not without its oddities. Everything seems to be fine at the DTTB, a well-functioning and highly successful association. In neighboring Austria, on the other hand, a lot is going wrong, but nothing is officially known for sure.

The head of the ÖTTV association, namely President Wolfgang Gotschke and his deputy Stefan Fegerl, have been under heavy criticism for several months, not (only) from the public, but above all from their employees and subordinates, i.e. the players. They accuse the management of "massive abuses in the form of psychological violence and neglect". The management, in turn, is defending itself against the accusations, has waited a long time to wait them out, but has not yet been able to dispel them. But yes, when cameras are filming the president kissing a player without asking , the matter is relatively clear; when "psychological violence" and "neglect" are the topics, one does wonder what exactly they mean.

Daniel Habesohn, one of the players affected and currently Austria's best - he made it to the main round in Montreux - has now made the allegations more specific. "The athletes and coaches affected do not want to be afraid of losing their jobs because they say something critical," Habesohn said, according to the Austrian press agency APA. The players were even threatened with legal action from above: "What is absolutely not acceptable is putting people under pressure, showing up at the workplace and issuing ultimatums - that is an absolute no-go ."

In other words: table tennis is work. Quite concretely, people's livelihoods depend on it. You have to do something, that's the idea from above, and if you're not willing, I'll have to use force. Unfortunately, an idea that is also making a comeback politically, so to speak.

Those responsible have so far denied any responsibility. An investigative commission has confirmed the allegations, but the officials still deny them. Instead of giving up their place in the sun, they are waiting for the showdown, which is finally due to take place on March 30. Habesohn is running for election - but so are Gotschke and Fegerl. And the election process is relatively opaque. Some regional association officials also have a say in the matter. So much for democracy.

The fact that the board is standing for election again can certainly be described as bold. Gotschke is not considering resigning: " That would be an admission of guilt ."