Ländle boss has hit the wall

“I can’t identify with this ÖFB”

VfV boss Horst Lumper

(Bild: Maurice Shourot)

The Austrian Football Association is not coming to rest. When a new president is to be voted on at the next general meeting in Bregenz on May 18, 2025, Vorarlberg soccer boss Horst Lumper may no longer be on board. He announced his resignation due to the prevailing conditions at the ÖFB.

"The incidents at the ÖFB in recent months have been very, very bad for Austrian soccer, they have damaged the reputation of the ÖFB enormously," said Vorarlberg's association president Horst Lumper in an interview with "Neue am Sonntag" and complained that the current crisis is not due to a structural problem, but to the behavior of individuals: "Because individual presidents, from the corner of Upper Austria and Tyrol, fight everything where there would otherwise be unanimity."

"You can disagree, of course, but, and this is to be expected, you also have to accept the majority of others - not undermine majorities and threaten legal action just because you don't like the majority opinion."

VFV-Präsident Horst Lumper

Bild: Maurice Shourot

New ÖFB president faces major challenges
Lumper, who has been president of the Vorarlberg Football Association since 2006, also stated: "You can disagree, of course, but, and this is already to be expected: you also have to accept the majority of others - not undermine majorities, threaten legal action, just because you don't like the majority opinion." This is a dangerous path that would divide the ÖFB. This cannot and must not continue. "Interim president Wolfgang Bartosch is doing a good job, but the new president will be under a lot of pressure, and we also need a CEO who can get things under control and take action."

Lumper is critical of ÖFB team boss Ralf Rangnick's interference in the discussion about the two managing directors Thomas Hollerer and Bernhard Neuhold: "In Ralf, we have an exceptionally good coach who is doing a great job in sporting terms. However, I don't think it's wise for him to interfere in other personnel decisions. I've said that to him personally."

No longer able to justify being part of this apparatus
The events of the last few months have taken their toll on 63-year-old Lumper: "I've been on the ÖFB presidium for 20 years, and it's never been as arduous as it is now." The power struggles are deeply distasteful to him. He wanted to make a difference and not waste his energy on exhausting and completely unnecessary disputes. That's why he has resigned his chairmanship of the Finance Committee. "It's clear to me that I won't stay with the ÖFB because I can no longer share responsibility for what's happening there - and I can't justify to myself or those around me that I'm still part of this apparatus. I can no longer identify with this ÖFB."

The outrageous accusations at the meetings, the recordings that ended up in the press, the personal insinuations below the belt that some people were subjected to: I cannot accept that. I don't want to put my name to that.

VFV-Präsident Horst Lumper

"I don't want to put my name to that"
The lawyer's departure from the ÖFB also means that the VFV needs a new president. "Because you can't be national president without holding an office at the ÖFB," explains Lumper, who was aware of the consequences of his decision, but was too burdened by the "vicious conflict" within the association. "The outrageous accusations at the meetings, the recordings that ended up in the press, the personal insinuations below the belt that some people were subjected to: I cannot accept that. I don't want to put my name to that." He expects a certain culture of discussion and debate and continues: "You can settle a conflict, but not the way it happened at the ÖFB."

Horst Lumper has had enough of the goings-on at the ÖFB.

(Bild: Mathis Fotografie )

Lumper rules out ÖFB presidency
The decision to step down as VFV president and not complete his sixth term of office - which runs until 2028 - has therefore been made. "Only the time frame is still open," says Lumper. "There are still important decisions to be made, and as soon as everything is in place, I will retire from the VFV." The lawyer ruled out taking on the role of ÖFB President himself: "I was in talks for a while, but that's out of the question for me because I live in Vorarlberg and an ÖFB President has to be available locally in Vienna."