The Handball Bundesliga is facing the threat of losing up to two places in the Champions League in the controversy over the design of its match schedule. The EHF announced that it would submit a motion to its executive board to reduce the number of German participants in the royal class to one.
Thorsten Storm, Managing Director of the German record holder THW Kiel, confirmed the process to SID on Wednesday. Storm explained:”If it really came to that, it would be very, very sad for the sport with all its top handball players who want to play in the Champions League, and for the many handball fans in Germany”.
On Tuesday there was a meeting of the European top clubs including the German clubs with the EHF. The HBL’s schedule, which due to the new television contract only allows matches on Thursday and Sunday, is only exceptionally also on Saturdays. However, this clashes with the Champions League schedule.
The German champion Rhein-Neckar Löwen, for example, will be playing in Leipzig on Saturday in the Bundesliga at 6.10 p. m., and on Sunday at 7.00 p. m. the match in the Champions League at FC Barcelona is already on the agenda. Like the lions, Vice Champion SG Flensburg-Handewitt had qualified for the highest international club competition, while Kiel received a wildcard from the EHF as third in the league.
The EHF emphasised that the decision was regretted, in particular because of the quality of the German clubs. However, given the current situation, there is no other option. At the weekend, representatives of the EHF and the DHB will meet at the congress of the IHF, which will send the clubs to the European competitions. The EHF then expects concrete proposals from the German camp.