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Staying away Daum doesn't want to cause distractions for Germany
BERLIN (Reuters) -- Germany's coach-designate Christoph Daum said on Wednesday he would not attend the England-Germany World Cup qualifier on Saturday because of a bitter row over his private affairs. Bayern Munich commercial manager Uli Hoeness said on Monday that Daum was not fit to be national coach because of a number of lurid allegations. Daum, currently coach of Bayer Leverkusen, insists he will take up the Germany job next year as planned and says he will sue Hoeness, one of German soccer's biggest names, for libel. However, the public nature of the damaging spat means Daum will not go to the qualifier at Wembley -- staging its final match before being knocked down ahead of rebuilding -- for fear of causing further disruption in the German camp. "I have cancelled, unfortunately. I would have so much loved to say farewell to Wembley. But if I appeared there, it would just lead to more trouble," Daum told the Koelner Express daily. Daum said he would sign a three-year contract with the German Football Association (DFB) in the next few weeks and said any allegations against him were without foundation. "There is nothing to be revealed. I have done nothing wrong and I will do nothing wrong. We have to put the facts on the table and then close this whole file as quickly as possible. All of this is damaging football," Daum told the newspaper. Daum is also facing a probe into his financial affairs. While Bayer Leverkusen have had a shaky start to the season caretaker coach Rudi Voeller has helped the national side recover from their disastrous Euro 2000 campaign. The Hoeness-Daum face-off has rocked a German football establishment already weakened by the national team's unspectacular performance in recent years. The DFB said it was trying to mediate in the row. "The DFB is doing its best to try and get the parties involved together for a discussion," DFB spokesman Wolfgang Niersbach told a news conference shortly before the national team left Frankfurt airport for London. State prosecutors in Cologne confirmed last week that they had launched a preliminary investigation into Daum for fraud and embezzlement after a former business associate accused the coach of owing him money from a property deal in Mallorca. Daum's lawyer dismissed the allegations as absurd and said the accuser, the ex-husband of Daum's girlfriend, had only made the allegations to exonerate himself in a separate fraud probe. Daum said he had received a lot of support from within the footballing establishment. "I've received an amazing amount of support from trainers, players, managers and people who have nothing to do with soccer," he said. Former international Voeller has made an impressive start with a 4-1 friendly win over Spain followed by a 2-0 World Cup victory against Greece. He said that he hoped the affair would not affect his team in the crunch England game. Earlier this week, Bayern Munich president Franz Beckenbauer demanded an end to the row and said he would talk to Hoeness about the matter. Daum appeared philosophical about the affair. "I'm not the first and I will not be the last person in the public limelight to have an experience like this. But I don't see this whole drama as a threat to my image," Daum said.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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