In the crisis at the German Olympic Sports Confederation, association chief Alfons Hörmann and the other presidium put the vote of confidence in an extraordinary general meeting shortly after the Summer Games and Paralympics in Tokyo. The DOSB announced this consequence of the serious allegations from the group of employees against the leadership of the umbrella organization on Thursday after three days of deliberations. The Paralympics will end on September 5th. Previously, after examining the allegations, the ethics committee had demanded an early vote by the members on the elected DOSB leadership.

Should the members withdraw their trust in the Presidium, there could be early elections.

According to the schedule, elections would not be on the agenda until the 2022 general assembly.

The Bavarian economic manager Hörmann has been head of the DOSB since December 2013.

In the past few years there had been several criticisms of his administration.

They are "aware of the special responsibility for German sport, the DOSB and our employees," said Hörmann about the decision to vote in confidence.

This was not unanimous, athlete representative Jonathan Koch did not support the decision.

"A climate of fear"

The latest house row at the DOSB was triggered at the beginning of May by an anonymously sent letter from the group of employees.

The letter contained serious allegations against Hörmann and the head of the association.

The talk was of a "climate of fear" in the DOSB headquarters in Frankfurt am Main.

Hörmann was accused of psychological pressure on employees and a lax handling of corona regulations.

The presidium and the board of directors hurriedly stood behind the head of the association and expressed their confidence in him.

Athlete representative Koch, however, had distanced himself from the statement.

Hörmann himself promised to clear up the allegations "openly and transparently" and was concerned.

The 60-year-old announced that he wanted to “create a different climate in the DOSB”.

Criticism of the DOSB leadership and of Hörmann also came from some state sports federations, this even went as far as demands for resignation.

In view of the great pressure, the association's management switched on the ethics committee headed by the former Federal Minister of the Interior, Thomas de Maizière.

After hearing and examining numerous submitted statements, the committee went tough with the top officials in court.

"There is too much self-reflection, demotivation and rumors, dissatisfaction and lack of clarity," the report states.

In view of the lack of trust, German sport “cannot go on like this”.

CEO Veronika Rücker promised: "We will actively approach the entire DOSB team over the next few weeks, listen and implement improvements together."