Scandal with consequences

Coach Volcano suspended after violent scuffle

Lucio Oro (right)(Bild: GEPA)

The scandal involving coach Lucio Oro is omnipresent at Aich/Dob ahead of today's first leg of the CEV Cup qualifying round in Bleiburg against Lausanne. The hot-blooded Brazilian stormed over to the other side of the court during the 3:2 win against Waldviertel in the league opener and got into a scuffle and a shouting match with the opposing players. A no-go in volleyball, of course.

The league handed coach Volcano and Waldviertel blocker Kornel Kowalewski an automatic one-match ban - the association is discussing further punishments. "Of course we will address this internally and punish him - but dismissal is not an issue. We want to put this behind us, we have enough other things to worry about," says boss Martin Micheu.

Martin Micheu(Bild: GEPA)

The Brazilian himself, who had already engaged in heated discussions with the opponents in last year's quarter-final against Graz, apologized for his outburst: "My behaviour cannot be justified. I accept the punishment and will work on myself, it can't happen again." Because he was constantly receiving nasty messages from volleyball fans, the 2.01-metre tall giant even deleted his Instagram account.

Today against the Swiss, he will be joined by Aich's former captain Manuel Steiner as interim co-coach. Not because of current events - this had been planned for the European Cup for some time. Nobody knows how good Lausanne really are. "Our attacker Yamamoto played against them. But like us, they have rebuilt the team - we can beat them with a good performance," says Micheu. "If we perform as disastrously as we did against Waldviertel, it won't be enough." Whereby Santana (26 points) and Camino (24), the two planned key players, have already made their presence felt. Aich will be aiming to put themselves in a good position for the second leg at the Swiss next Wednesday.