Handball Bundesliga team HSG Wetzlar has reacted to the ongoing sporting crisis and released coach Benjamin Matschke with immediate effect.

"We didn't take the decision lightly. However, we are concerned about the overall development and stabilization of the team over the past few weeks," said HSG Managing Director Björn Seipp on Sunday, explaining the separation from Matschke. Until a successor is found, the team will initially be looked after by sports director Jasmin Camdzic and the previous assistant coach Filip Mirkulovski.

After the 28:30 defeat against HSV Hamburg the day before and the fall to 15th place, the supervisory board, management and sporting management of the Hessians met for a crisis talk. "We have overall responsibility for HSG Wetzlar and want to achieve our goals, which as of today can only mean staying up. Therefore, in the overall assessment, we came to the conclusion that we need a new impetus," reported Seipp about the result.

The 40-year-old Matschke took over the HSG in the summer of 2021 and finished seventh in his first season. In this season, however, there are already nine defeats after 13 games. In addition to Matschke, the mental trainer Hanna Huber, who he brought with him when he took office, was released from her duties.