Hamburger SV cannot close the Michael Mutzel chapter as planned – the release of the sporting director before the start of the season is invalid, as the Hamburg labor court ruled on Tuesday. Previously, both parties had been unable to reach an out-of-court settlement.
The labor court listed several reasons why Mutzel could not be pushed aside as easily as sports director Jonas Boldt apparently expected. Mutzel had applied for his continued employment as sports director as part of an injunction.
A statement from the court said: “In the opinion of the deciding chamber, neither the leave of absence nor the exemption are effective. For example, HSV Fußball AG could not give the sporting director a leave of absence against his express will. In addition, the labor court had doubts as to the effectiveness of the unilateral release option agreed in the employment contract.”
Ultimately, the chamber did not see any sufficient indications of a sustained disruption in the relationship of trust between the parties, “because internal coordination difficulties and the refusal to share the outlook calendar were not enough for this.”
The particular urgency of the decision was also affirmed, “because otherwise there is a risk of further significant damage to the reputation of the plaintiff” – Mutzel should therefore not suffer any further professional damage from the matter. The decision can be appealed to the Hamburg Higher Labor Court. However, it is also conceivable that both parties will now meet again at an out-of-court date to discuss the amount of compensation – for HSV it should end more expensively than planned.
Last week, HSV parted ways with the former Bundesliga professional from Eintracht Frankfurt, VfB Stuttgart and Karlsruher SC three days before the first game of the season at Eintracht Braunschweig (2-0). The release was preceded by massive public criticism from his superior Jonas Boldt: “Michael does not work in a leadership role around the team,” said the sports director at the beginning of June and, among other things, enforced that Mutzel no longer have contact with the team and not with it allowed to travel to the training camp during the pre-season. The sporting director was particularly upset about this public dismantling, because even in the summer Boldt praised his skills as a squad planner and transfer expert.