Peter Hyballa’s position at Esbjerg seems untenable. The German trainer, who has been working at the Danish club since the start of the preparations, receives a vote of no confidence in an open letter from 21 of his players. Esbjerg’s players describe examples of threats of dismissal, sexist and degrading comments and demands that the board intervene.
The player group has been complaining to the management of Esbjerg about Hyballa for some time, but in the eyes of the players this has not led to any improvement. The selection then decided to send an open letter to Esktra Bladet, in the hope that management will intervene. The 21 players confirm in the hard letter all accusations that have already appeared in the media. Hyballa, who previously trained NEC and NAC Breda, previously denied the allegations.
Hyballa shocked: ‘I couldn’t explain to my mother what had happened’
The trainer understands little of the fuss that has arisen in Denmark.
The players open the letter by “expressing their strong distrust of coach Peter Hyballa and his staff.” “In our opinion, Peter Hyballa does not have the necessary professional or human qualities to lead the squad. Peter Hyballa is ignoring injuries and also openly opposing the club’s newly hired physiotherapist, who, after a few days of training and repeated condescension towards him burst into tears.”
The letter contains numerous examples of Hyballa’s behavior towards his players. “We are faced on a daily basis with threats of dismissal, derisive, sexist and demeaning comments and what we believe can be interpreted as structural bullying, which goes well beyond the already broad boundaries that exist in the football world. A player is repeatedly subjected to so-called body shaming. The player has been repeatedly called fat and the coach has grabbed both the sides of the player’s abdomen and chest several times during training to emphasize his dissatisfaction with the player’s body. In another situation, the coach pulled up the player’s shirt and nibbled at his chest.”
Departed player wipes the floor with ‘insane’ Peter Hyballa
Kasper Pedersen, who left Esbjerg this week, lashes out at Hyballa, which would create a terrible atmosphere.
“A player has been repeatedly called ‘dumb’ and ‘dumb horse’. None of this is said with a wink. It is all with a very mocking and condescending tone. During an exhibition game, the coach is again very dissatisfied. talk about the individual players, and directly say to a particular player ‘you’re a joke’ and ‘I can just call the owners and then it’s bye bye‘. After another practice match, Peter Hyballa hits a player who is passing by fairly hard on the back with his flat hand. If the player passes him again, a hard blow to his chest follows, again with a flat hand. Several teammates have seen the red spot that remained on the chest afterwards.”
The players complained to the management before, but without success. “None of our previous attempts to yell at management has brought about the necessary changes, or ensured a safe and good working environment. We feel that our opinion is not being followed at all, and we are really, really tired to hear that very few players experience problems or that we have to adapt to a different training style, our dissatisfaction has NOTHING to do with that, so we have seen no other way out than this letter to the media on July 29, 2021 to send.” Esbjerg’s management has not yet responded.