Reports: Schalke formulate plan to ditch sporting director soon
Germany's Associated Press (Deutsche-Presse-Agentur) reports that Schalke 04 Sporting Director Jochen Schneider may be terminated well before the end of the season.
It has long been known that relegation-threatened Bundesliga club FC Schalke 04 had planned to part company with currently sporting director Jochen Schneider at the end of the season. Reports about a succession plan have abounded for months. Schneider himself promised to resign if his most recently appointed trainer Christian Groß does not keep the club in the top tier.
Now multiple media sources are reporting that a replacement has been lined up and it is highly unlikely that Schneider will remain in his post until the end of the campaign. Germany's Associated Press cites reports appearing in "Ruhr-Nachrichten", "Sport1", and the country's "Bild-Zeitung" that a change may be imminent.
A small, but passionate, group of ultras set up shop at the team headquarters on Friday evening to voice their displeasure with both Schneider and club marketing director Alexander Jobst. Chants of "Schneider raus!" ("Schneider out!") rang out all evening long. The ultras also unfurled a banner reading "Egal ob Liga eins oder zwei, Jochen, du bist nicht dabei." ("No matter if it's league one or two, Jochen, it won't be with you.")
Schalke officials contacted by Germany's "SportBild" said that they had no comment on the matter and that Schneider would be present in the executive box to observe this afternoon's match against Union Berlin. The reports nevertheless suggest that talks involving a successor and replacement plan are already underway.
Scheider, who assumed the position in March 2019, still has a contract that runs through June 2022.