An old story is catching up with third division club Rot-Weiss Essen. Or rather: a solution for an employee who is no longer to work for RWE has still not been found.

The case of Sven Linnemann made headlines across Germany. The previously successful athletics coach at Rot-Weiss Essen, who brought Simon Engelmann, Felix Herzenbruch and Co. to top physical level in the 2021/2022 promotion season, was felled by a photo.

A brief look back: The family man, who is in a relationship with a South Korean woman, was pictured with a right-wing group in May 2022. From then on, he was accused of having right-wing ideas. Even WDR (West German Broadcasting) took an interest in Linnemann and devoted a few minutes to him in a report. This was followed by a veritable hounding of the 2005 Taekwondo Vice World Champion.

“I would like to make it clear that racism has no place in my life. All reports and personal attacks that claim otherwise are completely untrue, misrepresented, unsportsmanlike, contrived and hurtful,” the 49-year-old personal trainer, 90 percent of whose clients are foreigners, migrants or Germans with a migration background, defended himself in an interview with RS.

Rot-Weiss Essen released Linnemann. A new athletics trainer took over for the RWE professionals. It was said that Linnemann’s contract would expire on June 30, 2024. However, Forecasting has now discovered that this has not yet been clarified – i.e. the duration of the contract. The contract is said to be designed in such a way that the employee side insists on permanent employment and wants to be compensated accordingly. This is probably a case for the lawyers

I cannot and may not, even legally, say anything about the content of the contracts of current or former employees

Alexander Rang

The fact is: the Linnemann personnel issue will catch up with the third division club this summer. To date, the parties have not been able to agree on a termination of the employment contract, including a severance payment for the athletics coach. The consequence: According to our information, RWE reappointed Linnemann to RWE duty on 24 June 2024 – at the youth training center.

The problem: the “NLZ” clause is missing from the martial artist’s employment contract. According to his contract, Linnemann is only intended to work for the first team. It is hard to imagine that RWE will get away with this in the labor court.

“I cannot and may not, even legally, say anything about the content of the contracts of current or former employees,” Alexander Rang, member of the board of Rot-Weiss Essen, told Forecasting. Linnemann did not want to comment when asked by RS.