Hamburger SV
Criminal charges filed – Stefan Kuntz goes on the offensive in the harassment affair
The Hamburg public prosecutor’s office is investigating after a complaint from ex-HSV sports director Stefan Kuntz. The official was recently accused of sexual harassment.
In the affair surrounding alleged sexual harassment of female employees by former HSV sports director Stefan Kuntz, the 63-year-old went into attack mode: the Hamburg public prosecutor’s office confirmed this stern On Thursday afternoon there were media reports that the official had filed a stalking complaint against unknown persons through a law firm.
According to a spokeswoman for the prosecution, the complaint was made on December 12th – before the reporting on the alleged misconduct of the 1996 European soccer champion. Last Sunday, the “Bild” newspaper made it public that Kuntz was said to have behaved at least inappropriately towards HSV employees in his function as sports director (the stern reported).
“Serious misconduct” by Stefan Kuntz?
This is said to have been the actual reason for the supposedly amicable separation between the club and its manager at the end of the year. The Bundesliga club’s supervisory board indirectly confirmed the allegations last Monday. There are “allegations of serious misconduct,” it said in a statement. These were “credible” and the separation from Kuntz therefore took place “as quickly as possible”.
What exactly happened in the area around Hamburg’s Volkspark remains unclear. Most recently, “Spiegel” reported that those allegedly affected described “inappropriate” statements and “inappropriate physical contact” on Kuntz’s part. “Mr Kuntz explicitly did not take advantage of the opportunity to comment to the supervisory board despite multiple offers,” explained the HSV. Also at the request of stern the former national player and his lawyers did not react.
After the “Bild” report, Kuntz instead defended himself via Instagram. “I firmly reject these allegations!” he wrote. He will take action with lawyers against the “false allegations and previous convictions”. Since then, Kuntz has remained publicly silent.
With the criminal complaint for stalking under Section 238 of the Criminal Code, it is clear: the former HSV sports director sees himself as a victim.
The Hamburg public prosecutor’s office has started the investigation. When asked, she did not want to say which specific events were reported. There are currently no criminal charges against Stefan Kuntz.
Sources: “Bild” newspaper, “Spiegel”, Sport1, Hamburger SV, Stefan Kuntz, Hamburg public prosecutor’s office, DPA news agency
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