At the end of December, the bomb exploded among the national volleyball women. In the Canvas program The Prize of the Winner, ex-Yellow Tigers Freya Aelbrecht, Valérie Courtois and Hélène Rousseaux testified about Gert Vande Broek. They criticized the national coach and his leadership style.
In the aftermath of the program, Ilka Van de Vyver also joined the image of Vande Broek. The Yellow Tigers captain promptly announced her retirement from the national team.
The volleyball top reacted with surprise, because until then Vande Broek enjoyed a lot of respect inside and outside the world. The Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation. In the meantime – about 5 months later – Vande Broek was back on the training field with the national team on Tuesday.
“The Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office works completely independently. I don’t know how long the investigation will last. It is still ongoing and it is logical that no statements will be made about the case until the investigation is fully completed,” says Koen Hoeyberghs, who realizes that this is not an easy situation.
“That is why I had an individual conversation with each player together with the chairman of Volleybal Vlaanderen. Everyone is 100% committed, both for the program of the Yellow Tigers and for Gert Vande Broek”, emphasizes Hoeyberghs.
“Ilka Van de Vyver had already indicated that she would stop. Kaja Grobelna has some lingering injuries and wants to build in rest with a view to next season. For the rest, all players who were there at the European Championship last summer are back. “
