Marius Gersbeck (28), who was reintegrated into the professional squad after being charged with serious bodily harm, expressed remorse at the Hertha BSC general meeting on Sunday.
Marius Gersbeck expressed remorse at the Hertha general meeting.
IMAGO/Matthias Koch
The goalkeeper, who returned to his home and heart club from Karlsruher SC for a fee of 300,000 euros before this season, left the team hotel without permission at night during the training camp in Zell am See, Austria in mid-July and seriously injured a local after an argument. The victim sustained an orbital floor fracture (fracture of the floor of the eye socket), a maxillary sinus wall fracture and an eyelid hematoma. Gersbeck had reached a civil agreement with the Austrian on a compensation payment – reportedly in the six-figure amount. The Salzburg regional court closed the criminal proceedings at the end of September after Gersbeck’s admission of guilt on the basis of a diversion in which the professional paid 40,000 euros to the Austrian state treasury.
“On July 15th I made the biggest mistake of my life and I deeply regret it,” said Marius Gersbeck on Sunday to the approximately 1,600 Hertha members present in exhibition hall 21A. “I seriously injured my opponent, which was never my intention. I seriously disappointed my family, friends and the Hertha family. From that point on, I tried everything to make up for this mistake.”
I seriously disappointed my family, friends and the Hertha family.
Gersbeck is “grateful for being able to continue to put my experience at the service of the team. I am a Herthaner through and through who dreams of playing in the Olympic Stadium one day. In the future I would like to show you the person Marius Gersbeck, who regrets his actions and stands up for values. I want to accompany children so that the same thing that happened to me doesn’t happen to them.”
The club pardoned Gersbeck (contract until 2026) after the criminal proceedings were dropped. In the test match against upper division tennis Borussia Berlin (6:1), Gersbeck made his 45-minute comeback on Thursday. The status of Tjark Ernst, who impressed during Gersbeck’s suspension, as the new number 1 remains untouched for the time being. After Gersbeck’s reinstatement, around 50 Hertha members announced that they were leaving the club. Gersbeck has now spoken to several of them on the phone.
Substantial conversations with members
“According to our discussions, many remain loyal to the club,” said the father of three on Sunday. “I would like to offer everyone who I didn’t reach to speak to me at the office on Wednesday after training.”
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