Whenever someone has the resources and the determination to take new initiatives, it always tends to cause a stir, with both support and criticism.  Jesper Nielsen, a wealthy Danish businessman has the financial capacity to go against prevailing trends of cut-backs and economic worries in European club handball.  He is able, as an owner and sponsor, to keep two strong teams going, AG Kopenhamn and Rhein-Neckar-Lowen, but not without controversy.

OF course, it gives the European Handball Federation (EHF) some headaches, when the issue related to dual ownership comes up.  In theory at least, there seems to be some scope for manipulation, if clubs that are participating in the same event, such as the Champions League, are under the same management.  But there is also some agitation in Germany, where the R-N-L manager Thorsten Storm has criticized his boss for giving lower priority to the German club in favor of AGK.   Storm has expressed concerns that R-N-L has not been getting the resources and the attention that the club needs and deserves.  Instead, top players, such as Olafur Stefansson, are now moving from R-N-L to AGK.

And despite the excitement that the emergence of AGK has created in Denmark, there are very much mixed feelings about having the men’s league dominated too strongly by one team.  The financial status and the competitiveness of the Danish league are seen as depending on the excitement generated by a tough and close competition for the title and the top positions among several more or less equal teams.  And of course, a little bit of envy may also have something to do with negative reactions.

Moving on to Spain, perhaps a little bit of parity is on the horizon, after what has become known about the financial problems of the two totally dominating clubs in recent years, namely Ciudad Real and Barcelona.  We are probably only days away from a decision regarding Ciudud Real and a seemingly unavoidable move to Madrid.  But contrary to what I commented on in a recent article, it now seems that the best bet is a merger, not with Real Madrid but with football rival Atletico Madrid.  This of course offers an interesting twist, as in fact Atletico Madrid was a handball team with great traditions as the dominating club in the 1960s and again in the 1980s.  Famous coaches, such as the Domingo Barcenas and the current Federation president Juan de Dios Roman Seco combined with Spanish and international star players to gain numerous League championships and cup wins.

Barcelona’s triumph in the handball Champions League may have made it impossible for the football-focused club management to mistreat handball completely.  But a major budget cut-back seems already decided.  The expenses for the football team have sky-rocketed, due to both successful and disastrous player acquisitions.  It was noted that the net loss after the initial purchase and subsequent bargain sale of Ibrahimovic was in the order of 40-50 million Euros, which is much more than the entire budget for handball.  So now handball and basketball will be treated much less generously (and baseball is eliminated altogether), and what this might mean in terms of the ability to keep a generously staffed and paid handball team, with many international imports, is hard to predict.

The EHF has also had some concerns about developments in other ‘corners’ or Europe.  In most parts of the former Yugoslavia, there has been a strong interest in cooperating around a regional league, which would provide some interesting competition not just for the top clubs but also for those who miss out on the top EHF events.  Slovenian clubs seem to prefer to focus on their own league, and the top Hungarian clubs have also declined invitations.  Instead, Tatran Presov from Slovakia (who would need to win a qualifying group in order to be in the EHF Champions League) would like to take part.  Some interest also seems to exist in Poland, especially on the part of Kielce, who have a seemingly very strong team but stilled managed to miss the Polish title and the chance to participate again in Champions League.

However, it appears that the EHF has asserted its privileges regarding ‘cross-border’ competitions.  It would not seem possible to deny neighboring countries the chance to organize an exchange on an ongoing basis, but the intended participation of precisely Tatran, a non-neighbor of the Balkan countries, seemed to give the EHF a basis for stepping in.  Apart from this particular league, which had preferred to shed its ‘Balkan’ label, for the more flexible name ‘Southeastern Handball Association’, there are similar regional efforts among the Baltic countries and the BeNeLux, whose clubs rarely get very far in EHF competitions.  Apart from the principles involved, and the obvious reluctance to encourage rivaling events, it seems that the EHF also might have some concerns about the image issues that could follow from a potential lack of discipline, poor crowd control and shaky refereeing in some region.

Natural to react during the game, but not to bring accusations afterwards

Well, of course not!  In a certain other continent, this would not have been so surprising, if one thinks back to the scandal involving the qualifications for the 2008 Olympics, but surely not in Europe.   So when Kiel’s coach Alfred Gislason openly expressed this accusation to the media following the Kiel-Barcelona quarterfinal on May 1, the issue is not really whether his accusation had merit but why on earth is the EHF dealing with it in such a slow and bureaucratic manner!?

I know from experience that international and continental sports federations tend to be very formal and meticulous in dealing with disciplinary matters, and their regulations and procedures are often not set up to deal with urgent matters very swiftly.  And generally speaking, I have full respect for the concept of ‘due process’.  But here we are dealing with a matter that is both absolutely clear-cut and extremely serious.  There can be no doubt or dispute about what Gislason said.  And there can be no disagreement about how potentially damaging and completely unacceptable his action was.

Coaches are entitled to be frustrated after a key defeat and to have whatever opinions they want.  Up to a point, one can even tolerate some criticism of referees in public.  But there must be no tolerance for public statements that amount to asserting a complete lack of integrity on the part of the EHF, a pair of referees who deservedly enjoy a high reputation, and our sport as a whole!  For such extreme cases, special procedures must exist under which swift and serious punishment can be meted out.  Such a case just cannot be allowed to drag on!  

It is simply not good enough that the EHF after about ten days announced that “it has filed a claim with its Arbitration Tribunal”, and that after one more week there is no result and punishment.  In the meantime, Gislason is coaching Kiel in an IHF event, where he and his team are official representatives of Europe and the EHF!!  By comparison, in the context of NBA, NHL or the NFL, a decision and a suspension with immediate effect would have been in place within 24 hours.  The EHF, with its extensive competition activities and frequent matches, must ensure that an ’emergency procedure’ exists.  (And by the way, this kind of case illustrates why it is a bit awkward that the lowest level disciplinary body is labeled ‘Arbitration Tribunal’…).

I could stop there, because this is really the essence of the matter.  But it does cause me to comment on a couple of other aspects.

First, it has been rather interesting to read some of the comments in the German media.  Here one can find unbiased reports which recognize that Kiel played an unusually weak game against Barcelona, also when taking into account injury issues and other shortcomings of the line-up.  And it was also very clear that Omeyer had an extremely poor game, not just by his high standards but by any comparison.  Writers commented that Gislason, apparently like on several other occasions, had shown too much deference to his star goalie, not having the courage to take him out much earlier.  So it seems that it requires much less courage to blame it all on the referees and the EHF…

Second, there is one aspect of Gislason’s statement that may not have been given enough attention in media.  It may have its specific advantages to have a German-Spanish rivalry in the EHF club events, but it is rather doubtful that this is healthy and stimulating for the longer-term development.  Surely, the currently utopian idea of having eight countries from different parts of Europe represented in the quarter-finals would create even more widespread enthusiasm.  Football has a bit of an advantage in this respect, although admittedly precisely this year’s Europa League final causes similar grumbling.  Of course, the existing situation reflects a reality that nobody could quickly or easily change.  So one can only hope that economic circumstances will permit other leagues, or at least individual clubs, to increase their efforts to become more fully competitive.