“I am very happy that an independent commission will take care of this matter,” Milletich was quoted as saying in an association broadcast. “I have always explained everything transparently and will also act in the same way towards the Bundesliga ethics committee.” Chairman of the seven-member committee is the retired judge Wolfgang Pöschl, who most recently served, among other things, on the parliamentary committee of inquiry into the “Ibiza” affair and the ÖVP corruption investigation -Committee as trial judge.
The only item on the agenda of the executive committee meeting in a hotel in Vienna’s Prater were the allegations against Milletich, which the news magazine “News” and the daily newspaper “Kurier” first reported on in October. Other members of the Presidium may also have researched. “New facts have been presented,” Wolfgang Bartosch, President of the Styrian regional association, was quoted as saying after the meeting in the APA. As announced, they came from Upper Austria’s head of the association, Gerhard Götschhofer. Like Tyrol’s Josef Geisler and Salzburg’s Herbert Hübel, he is a self-confessed opponent of Milletich.
Ethics Committee examines Causa Milletich
The ÖFB does not come to rest. The ethics committee of the Bundesliga will now examine the allegations against President Gerhard Milletich of using his position as head of the association to win advertising customers for his publishing house.
“Different Interpretations”
Bartosch spoke of “different interpretations” that still exist. The proposal to entrust the company’s own ethics committee with examining the matter finally came from the representatives of the Bundesliga – they put four of them on the ÖFB presidium. According to the APA report, it was accepted with one dissenting vote. In its short statement, the ÖFB wrote of a decision “with an overwhelming majority”. The result of the investigation will be sent to the Bureau. According to Bartosch, the results should be available in January. “You will work relatively quickly.”
With the appointment of a neutral body to examine the facts, the ÖFB at least complied with a wish from Sports Minister Werner Kogler (Greens). In an interview with the news magazine “profil” in November, the vice chancellor recommended setting up “an objective commission to clarify the allegations”. Mail traffic should be disclosed, according to the wishes of the Green leader. Kogler: “As a sponsor, I expect the ÖFB to do something so that the members can regain their trust.”
Infrastructure project on the brink
As early as next week, the Presidium, which includes Milletich and the heads of the nine state associations as well as four representatives of the Bundesliga, will meet again, then not extraordinarily. December 16th is also about the future of the largest infrastructure project in the history of the largest local sports association. Among other things, a training center and a new ÖFB office are to be built in Vienna-Aspern.
A decision on a possible construction seems to have to be made this year, especially since price guarantees expire at the end of the year. The existing funding commitments from the federal government and the city of Vienna, which originally wanted to contribute a third of the costs each, would probably have to be renegotiated. In contrast to Götschhofer, Geisler and Hübel, Milletich is a clear supporter of the project, which was initiated by former ÖFB President Leo Windtner.
No lawsuit filed yet
Milletich is now in a legal dispute with the “Kurier”. The lawyer of the ÖFB boss informed the presidium about their status. “Formally, no lawsuit has been filed, but an application for a reply,” reported Bartosch. However, it is not true that Milletich has not taken any steps under media law. “He will continue to follow this, all steps have been taken.” But deadlines etc. also have to be taken into account.
