B " I'll see you at the Club of Bundesliga, 1 / 1 FC Union Berlin. U19 team coach Jens Härtel has resigned following accusations of discrimination against young people during the training process.
According to German news agency dpa and newspaper D I E ZEIT, 57-year-old decided to step down after the German Football Federation Control Commission (DFB) demanded a ban on the exercise of the coach's profession for several weeks.
It all started with an anonymous letter sent to the club, where claims were filed for discriminating statements by the coach during training.
After receiving the letter, the heads of Union Berlin launched an internal screening process, with the involvement of external experts.
In a statement published on the club's official page on October 11th, Härtel admitted wrong and apologized.
“I made mistakes and have not fulfilled my role as an example for young people”, the German coach said.
He stressed that he had never intended to hurt or discriminate against someone through his words. Härtel also announced it would temporarily withdraw from the coach's profession to reflect on his behaviour and seek professional support.
Union Berlin Youth Football Director Lutz Munack confirmed that the club had taken disciplinary measures against the coach.
According to Munack, Härtel's behaviour was unacceptable, but the leaders had noted sincere efforts on his part to reflect and correct mistakes.
The club explained that no players' safety risks had been identified during the review, and that so far no person directly affected had appeared near reporting mechanisms.
However, Union Berlin has decided to strengthen training and prevention programmes at the football academy.
Härtel had taken the lead in the U19 team only in July 2026. Earlier, he had run popular German clubs as 1. FC Magdeburg, Hansa Rostock, Eintracht Braunschweig and Erzegebyge Aue.
His departure leaves the post of youth coach, while Union Berlin has not yet announced who will replace it.
