RB Leipzig’s sports director Max Eberl will not be a guest in ZDF’s “Sportstudio” on Saturday evening as planned. The broadcaster refrained from an appearance by the 49-year-old because, at Eberl’s request, “certain topics (“Causa Gladbach”) should be largely excluded”. This was announced by ZDF on Thursday. The “Sportstudio” editors did not want to comply with this request. Instead, Marius Bülter from FC Schalke 04 will be a guest on Saturday.
According to RB Leipzig, Eberl canceled the appearance. “After an early commitment, I am now refraining from my visit to the ZDF sports studio next Saturday,” said Eberl when asked by dpa. He faced the issues off the pitch about the game against Gladbach, although he wanted to end it. “Rather, it was partly interpreted as if I wanted to actively heat up the discussions. Despite all the emotion, that wasn’t my intention,” said Eberl.
According to dpa information, there was an agreement well before the Gladbach game that the interview in the “Sportstudio” should be forward-looking. After the events of the weekend, when Eberl was again the victim of insulting banners, ZDF wanted to go deeper into Eberl and his departure from Gladbach. “I fully understand that when I put myself in their perspective,” said Eberl. From his point of view, however, everything has been said several times: “I would like to leave it at that, put a tick on the subject and look ahead.” Eberl left Gladbach in January 2022 after 23 years as a player and sports director due to health problems and then in Joined RB last December.
When he first saw Borussia in his new position last Saturday, the 49-year-old was attacked and badly insulted by individual Gladbach fans. Before the game, Eberl had refrained from appearing in the media. On the day of the match and the day after the match, however, the manager talked extensively about Borussia and the incomprehension of some Gladbach fans about his new job in the “double pass” of the TV channel Sport1. RB Leipzig won the game 3-0.
