Serious accusations

Table tennis dispute: No agreement, new elections to follow

At its meeting in Linz on Saturday, the Presidents' Conference of the Austrian Table Tennis Association was unable to agree on measures regarding the massive accusations against ÖTTV President Wolfgang Gotschke and Sports Director Stefan Fegerl.

As Helmut Jäger, Chairman of the Presidents' Conference, explained in a statement, no majority could be found for personnel consequences. There will now be early elections.

There have been allegations of psychological violence and neglect against Gotschke and Fegerl from athletes since last year. The report of a commission of inquiry appointed in the case is said to have substantiated the misconduct. However, this did not have any immediate consequences for the association duo, which remained absent after the meeting on Saturday.

New elections to set the course for the future
According to Jäger, who is also the president of the Burgenland association and was part of the investigation commission, the presidents' conference is "unanimously in favor of holding an early general assembly with elections as soon as possible. The Executive Board is requested to hold this general assembly within six weeks and to advertise it as soon as possible." According to Jäger, this should set the course for the future.

Gotschke and Fegerl, for whom the presumption of innocence applies, had denied the allegations in the past and are said to have done the same before the commission. Player representatives and prominent athletes such as European champion Sofia Polcanova had recently denounced the unresolved situation and "tense atmosphere".