Soccer-Brondby coach Frank quits, chief executive fired

Broendbyernes IF Fodbold A/S

09/03/2016 11:19

COPENHAGEN, March 9 (Reuters) - Brondby  BIF.CO  coach 
Thomas Frank has decided to leave the Danish top-flight club 
after being criticised by the chairman on an online fan forum, 
while the chief executive has been sacked. 
    Frank's departure came after local media reported that 
Brondby's chairman and major shareholder, Jan Bech Andersen, had 
criticised him on the online fan forum SydSiden Online under a 
pseudonym using his son's account. 
    Andersen, who owns more than 25 percent of the club, has 
since acknowledged he was behind the criticism on the fan forum 
and has apologised. 
    "It is no secret that the relationship between Jan and me 
has been strained from time to time, and after the last days of 
massive media attention, he and I had a talk," Frank told a news 
conference on Wednesday. "Based on that talk, I have chosen to 
end the cooperation". 
    Brondby, who had their heyday in the 1980s and '90s, 
reaching the European Cup quarter-finals in 1987, also announced 
they had fired CEO Soren Vadmand shortly before posting a loss 
of 17 million Danish crowns ($2.5 million) for 2015. 
    Chief financial officer Jesper Jorgensen will take over the 
reins as the eighth CEO in as many years. 
    Brondby are fifth in the Danish championship, trailing 10 
points behind leaders FC Copenhagen.  
    ($1 = 6.7987 Danish crowns) 
 
 (Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard, writing by Teis Jensen; 
editing by Ken Ferris) 
 ((Nikolaj.Skydsgaard@thomsonreuters.com; +45 33 96 96 03; 
Reuters Messaging: 
nikolaj.skydsgaard.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: SOCCER DENMARK/BRONDBY