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Ice hockey scandal: From the Birken and Haukeland in the manipulation drama!
Danny Aus den Birken, goalkeeper for the Dresden Ice Lions, addresses a possible accusation of manipulation in his podcast.
Ice hockey scandal: From the Birken and Haukeland in the manipulation drama!
What's going on in the ice hockey scene? A new scandal surrounding allegations of manipulation is causing a stir. Goalkeeper Danny Aus den Birken, known from the podcast “Eis und Leben”, spoke in a recent episode about sensitive news that puts him in a bad light. He subsequently explains that Henrik Haukeland, the Düsseldorfer EG goalkeeper at the time, sent him an ironic message before crucial playoff games in which he offered to forego the defeat. In return, Haukeland promised to secure him a job as a goalkeeping coach in Düsseldorf if his Dresden Ice Lions lost. In the event of a defeat, this would have had catastrophic consequences for the Düsseldorf DEG, as relegation would have been the consequence after Ravensburg did not register for the DEL. [Bild] reports that Aus den Birken was contacted by the DEL anti-manipulation organization after his podcast statement, which further inflamed the situation.
But how did these allegations come about? Aus den Birken mentioned in his podcast that Haukeland's message was peppered with several laughing emoticons, which should have underlined the joking nature of the communication. He himself saw the message as humorous and emphasized that he always rejects offers of manipulation. “Without sporting fairness, ice hockey is no fun,” he explained clearly. Haukeland also commented on this and said that the matter had been exaggerated. “I am surprised at the seriousness of the allegations,” said Haukeland, who has built his career on fair play.
Processing the allegations
As part of the investigations, the DEL and DEL 2 came to the conclusion that this was a misunderstanding. The anti-manipulation proceedings that had been initiated were discontinued after a thorough examination of all evidence. This situation contributes to the discussion about fairness in sport, which is becoming increasingly important.
On the basic framework: The German Ice Hockey League (DEL), founded in 1994, is the highest division in German ice hockey and replaced the Ice Hockey Bundesliga. The league operates from a business perspective and most clubs are organized as corporations. The first champions of this new era were the Kölner Haie. The DEL has developed significantly since then and is also attracting international attention.
If you are interested in the ice hockey landscape, we recommend the podcast “Bully – the ice hockey podcast”. In weekly editions, Helmut, Stefan and Markus discuss current DEL topics and analyze various teams. Exciting insights are provided in monthly formats such as “Puls-Check-DEL” and “Ice Warriors: Women of the DFEL”. [Apple Podcasts] provides interesting interviews with players that provide a look behind the scenes of the ice hockey world.
The sport of ice hockey in this country not only has its ups and downs, but also interesting stories to tell. While the DEL continues to stand up for sporting fairness, we remain curious about developments in the league and in the discussions about the integrity of the game.