RB Leipzig has responded to the heavy criticism of the past few days. Club boss Oliver Mintzlaff (46) presented himself to the public on Tuesday morning – and was visibly touched. Mintzlaff kept fighting back tears.
The manager: “We are all deeply shocked by the events that are happening in this war. Of course, that caused big emotional holes for us too. We noticed that there was a lot of discussion about how RB behaved.
The accusation: Even before Uefa canceled the Europa League game against Spartak Moscow on Monday evening because of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, RB avoided a clear statement against the game.
While the Poles, among others, clearly stated that they did not want to play against Russia in the World Cup playoffs, there was never any talk of a boycott at RB. Instead, the club sent ticket information for the game to season ticket holders on Friday morning.
But RB is self-critical! Mintzlaff explains: “After the draw, we talked about how we would handle the draw. Can you play against this team, is boycott the right thing? Sport is supposed to connect. We couldn’t sort our thoughts properly, but who can in a situation like this that is completely new: a war on our doorstep.”
Mintzlaff got in touch with Uefa President Aleksander Ceferin that night, and over the weekend he was in constant contact with Uefa and DFL boss Donata Hopfen.
Why didn’t RB announce a boycott on its own? “We have decided, and that was also Aleksander Ceferin’s wish, that Uefa, as the organiser, make the decision to cancel the game. And there was no alternative, we were aware of that.”
Why was Mintzlaff at the diving station until Tuesday morning while players and coaches commented? The club boss: “It’s not like we duck away in difficult situations. Our clear course of action, also in close consultation with Uefa and DFL, was that we would let Uefa cancel it. In retrospect, I see this as a completely correct step.”
And further: “I can live with any criticism. But sometimes you shoot quickly, what do you want to achieve with that? Do I just want to serve clichés that RB is just a construct, just wants to make money and serve the brand? I can only shake my head at that. All of this has affected us too. And I’m also emotionally attacked. “
Mintzlaff fights back tears: “And then when you read so much shit, you ask yourself how sick it actually is?” war is? We should all ask ourselves whether we can do that at all in the current situation? So in Bochum there was a good mood until the 1-0, you didn’t notice that the world was standing still and changing. There is no right or wrong here either. It’s a situation we’ve never dealt with.”
Will RB donate the bonus (around 2 million euros) for the quarter-finals, in which RB is now going without a fight? Mintzlaff: “We found out about the decision last night. It is now a matter of considering what we can do. We’ll think about it.”
