Hamburger SV are considering legal action against Maximilan Beister following derogatory comments the midfielder allegedly made about his former club. Beister is alleged to have broken a discretion clause in his contract.
Following his transfer to Bundesliga rivals 1. FSV Mainz 05, Beister, 24, attacked the Hamburg club in an interview with the Mainz-based newspaper Lünepost, criticising the manner in which the transfer was conducted and suggesting that HSV wanted to sell him to a 3. Liga club since there was little interest in him in the Bundesliga.
Furthermore, comments attributed to Beister by Lünepost paint an unfavourable picture of Hamburg under manager Bruno Labbadia, who rescued the club from relegation at the end of last season.
Shocking comments, but were they fabricated?
“As soon as Labbadia came into the dressing room I knew that my time at HSV was up", Beister is alleged to have told the newspaper, adding that "the personal relationships in place at HSV are strange to say the least”.
When pressed for more details and asked to clarify what he meant by this, Beister is said to have continued: “Anyone who has followed the Hamburg press recently will know that something's up. Articles are constructed in a certain way to have a certain affect on proceedings at HSV."
According to Lünepost, Beister believes that the stance of key media figures in the city has had a disproportionate effect on the football club: "There have been so many changes of personel at the club in recent years, so much coming and going at all levels." He added, "You only have to look at who's not been affected to see who's behind it all."
For his part, Beister denies the quotes attributed to him. He told the Hamburger Abendblatt that he is furious at the allegations which he considers “impudent”, and intends to press charges against the Lünepost himself.