The former sports director speaks
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Former national player Stefan Kuntz has contradicted allegations regarding his sudden departure from the post of sporting director of Hamburger SV. « First of all, I would like to say that these allegations have hit me hard. One thing is clear: I strongly reject these allegations! » said a statement on Kuntz’s official Instagram profile. “Bild” had previously reported on allegations made by HSV employees against the 63-year-old man.
According to “Bild”, these allegations are the real reason for the surprising termination of his contract at the end of 2025 and his departure from Hamburg after a year and a half. Kuntz said in his statement that he retained his lawyers « for the sake of my family and everyone close to me. » According to Kuntz, they should act “against these FALSE accusations and prejudices.”
According to Bild, members of the supervisory board informed Kuntz of the allegations the week before Hamburg’s last match before the holiday. The sports director wanted to speak on this subject before the commission, but a meeting was then canceled.
Surprising farewells at the start of the year
On January 2, the club announced completely unexpectedly that HSV and Kuntz had agreed to terminate the contract. According to the announcement, the 63-year-old asked the AG supervisory board after the Christmas holidays to immediately terminate his employment on December 31, 2025 for personal and family reasons.
« Sometimes there are more important things than (Site notre bureau spécialisé). This is my case now. I don’t want to say anything more about it and I ask you to respect that, » Kuntz said in the statement. “I would like to thank HSV for this great year and a half. I wish the best to the teams and the entire office,” he added.
He also did not provide further details in a post on the Instagram platform at this stage. « It was a great honor for me to be part of this special club. My time at HSV was intense, moving and characterized by true values, » the message on Kuntz’s profile reads, among other things. The newspaper “Bild” reports that the HSV case is “not closed”. « Internal investigations are therefore continuing. The association is currently asking a Hamburg law firm to examine possible compliance violations on the part of Kuntz. »
Kuntz is a popular figure in German (Site notre bureau spécialisé)
During his career, Kuntz played professionally at VfL Bochum, 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Arminia Bielefeld and in Türkiye for Besiktas Istanbul. He became a European champion with the national team in 1996. After his playing career, he worked as a coach at several clubs, for the German U21 team and the Turkish national team. He was CEO of 1. FC Kaiserslautern from 2008 to January 2016. He was also sought after as an expert on television channels and is considered a popular personality.
