A member of the German football federation's refereeing committee
denied media reports on Wednesday that he sexually harassed a
younger colleague.
Manfred Amerell said the allegations printed in the
Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper are without foundation.
The 62-year-old former referee has voluntarily stood down
from his duties in the match officials' organization on health
grounds, the federation has confirmed.
"I am laughing myself silly," Amerell said. "The accusations
are without foundations, invented and denied by me."
Amerell was a referees' representative in the committee and
his duties included appointing match officials and promoting young
referees.
The DFB was informed by the younger referee about the alleged
harassment in December, according to media reports, but had not
publicly mentioned it. It says it is now investigating the case.
Rainer Koch, one of the DFB's vice presidents whose
responsibilities include matters related to refereeing, asked to be
relieved of his duties Wednesday because he had been kept in the
dark about the allegations.
The harassment case is the second major problem to rock the
DFB inside a week, following the collapse of negotiations with
German coach Joachim Loew over a contract extension.
