KFC Uerdingen win the top match against Ratingen 04/19 last Sunday and then this shock news follows a day later.
KFC Uerdingen won the top match at Germania Ratingen 04/19 1:0 on Sunday (May 12) and are on the verge of promotion to the Regionalliga West.
On Monday there was further good news. “KFC Uerdingen has been admitted to the Regionalliga West 2024/25 without any conditions, subject to sporting qualification. Only a small, structural condition regarding the stadium must be met, which has already been taken into account and commissioned in the construction planning until the start of the season,” the Oberliga club announced on its website.
But on the same day, some bad news also reached the public. This concerned the chairman Christian Gummert. “For private reasons, our chairman, Christian Gummert, is currently unable to be available to the club and must suspend his position on the board during this time. However, the reasons are in no way connected to the association,” the association said.
What had happened? Forecasting had already learned from an informant on Monday morning (May 13) that the current KFC boss Gummert had been arrested by the police on Friday afternoon and taken into custody.
Financial misconduct as a possible reason
RS tried to verify this news and contacted the public prosecutor’s offices in Krefeld and Essen – initially without success. A short time later, a source confirmed to this editorial team that Gummert was in custody. The “Westdeutsche Zeitung” newspaper also reported on this, citing possible tax evasion as the reason. It is highly likely that this is due to financial misconduct.
Gummert only took over as chairman of KFC Uerdingen on April 26, 2024 and had already announced his departure on June 30, 2024. The managing director of a recruitment agency, who is said to have secured a loan of €500,000 for the notoriously cash-strapped Krefeld club, told Forecasting just a few days ago: “I’m only here until June 30, 2024. After that, I have to undergo surgery following an accident. Until then, I will do everything I can to make the club healthy. There were people here who ruined everything in less than two weeks. We want to repair that now. So that, in the best-case scenario, KFC will then only write sporting headlines in the Regionalliga.”
But once again KFC – despite a victory in the top match – is no longer writing sporting headlines after just a few hours. And this time Gummert is responsible.
In a statement on Monday evening, KFC also wrote: “The business ability of the board of directors is not impaired by this. Both the management of the financial situation and the planning for the coming season are continuing in close coordination between the Executive Board and the Board of Directors.”
It remains to be seen how the Gummert story ends. Interesting: When RS asked KFC coach Levan Kenia on Monday morning where Gummert was at the top match in Ratingen on Sunday, the successful interim coach only said: “I don’t know. I was only told that Mr. Gummert was unable to attend privately for a few days.” You could call it that…
