The German Ice Hockey League (DEL) has rejected criticism from the Ice Hockey Players' Association (SVE), which had alleged management errors in dealing with the corona pandemic.

DEL Managing Director Gernot Tripcke told the FAZ that the claims made by Christopher Röder, who has represented the association of professionals founded in 2020 since the beginning of the year, do not correspond to the facts.

Marc Heinrich

sports editor.

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"I firmly reject the accusation that we and the clubs did not inform the players early on about match operations, health issues and occupational safety, especially in times of Corona.

That's just wrong," said Tripcke.

"In no previous phase have we held more meetings than during the pandemic."

In an interview with the FAZ, Röder criticized, among other things, the communication policy of the league, whose committees had not explained enough which regulations, test strategies or quarantine regulations were currently valid.

This led to uncertainty among the players, who also had to accept a drop in salary.

Röder also called for more emphasis to be placed on independence and transparency in the executive bodies of the DEL.

Tripcke replied that the SVE had made no effort to engage in constructive dialogue "for months".

He accused SVE Managing Director Röder of wanting to cause a stir in the public, in particular with populist statements.

With Röder's predecessor, the former professional Alexander Sulzer, it was "completely different," said Tripcke.

With him, debates would have taken place on a “reasonable basis”.

“The exchange with Sulzer was completely fine, both sides understood it as a transfer of information and know-how.

The SVE would be well advised to build on this."

"We need to talk to each other, not about each other"

Tripcke pointed out that prior to this season, Sulzer took part in meetings of the DEL sports commission and in the league office, where changes to the rules of the game and a wide range of safety precautions that had become necessary as a result of the Corona crisis were discussed.

In addition, Tripcke expressed fundamental doubts about the legitimacy to which the SVE refers.

"To this day we have no information as to how many members Röder speaks for at all.

That fact alone says a lot.”

Tripcke called it "in a way adventurous" that Röder claimed to represent the interests of the majority of professionals.

Markus Kink, the former striker of the Mannheimer Adler, who trades as sports director of the SVE, is said to have “never turned up for a conversation to date” despite statements to the contrary.

Tripcke announced that the "Captain's Dinner" will probably take place again in August after a two-year Corona break.

In the past, all captains and members of the team councils were traditionally invited to the dinner once a year to inform them about changes in ice hockey and the DEL.

"We need to talk to each other, not about each other," said Tripcke, who encouraged players to address "relevant pointers to problems" and "constructive ideas for change" directly to the DEL.

"Our door is always open to all players, not just SVE."