A couple of weeks ago, Eintracht defender Martin Hinteregger was caught in touch with right-wing politicians. A mega-scandal broke out in Germany – and the club was seriously considering selling one of the leaders in order to avoid reputational losses. Although parting with Hinteregger was planned for a long time: at the end of May, the defender in an interview for the Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung confirmed that the club was getting rid of him. But Martin was strongly opposed – he dreamed of playing in the Champions League. Last season he played in the Bundesliga 27 matches (2222 minutes) and even scored one goal. And now Hinteregger ends his playing career. At 29 years old. The player himself did not directly link the decision to the scandal (more on that later), but nevertheless mentioned the story when he announced that he would no longer play football. “The first thoughts about ending a career appeared last fall,” the Austrian says goodbye. – I then had a difficult period because of my game. Victories have not brought me such pleasure for a long time, but each new defeat caused double pain. Winning the Europa League pushed me one step further. Even then I understood that this was my last victory in my second home. I will remember my time at Eintracht with gratitude and enjoyment. I would like to thank every employee of the club for their work and the trust placed in me. I especially thank the fans who supported me even in the most difficult moments. There has been a lot of news around my Hinti Cup in recent weeks and the extent of the discussion on this topic has only become clear to me recently. I love this cup with all my heart. Some of my words irritate people, so I would like to apologize to everyone for my emotionality. I’m really sorry. I will say again very clearly: I condemn in the strongest terms all right, intolerant and inhuman ideas. Those who know me know this. But now I need to move away and reorient my life in a new direction.
What is the “Hinti Cup”?
For several months, Martin has been promoting the Hinty Cup, an event where fans from all over the city come to hang out with him. As part of the event, the football player held a tournament for amateur teams with a small prize fund. Sometimes he himself ran out onto the field. Hinteregger usually arranged an event in Germany, but after Antracht’s victory in LE, the player moved the Hinti Cup to his native Austrian province of Carinthia to thank the locals for their support. For fans from Germany, Hinteregger offered a flight at his own expense. Several thousand fans were waiting for the event, so Hinteregger rented a whole castle, which usually hosts exhibitions and concerts. In the same place, the footballer was photographed with Heinrich and Elisabeth Zikl, well-known right-wing politicians in Austria. Until 2021, Heinrich Siekl worked in the city council of Graz from the far-right Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ), and in his youth he was a member of the German neo-Nazi organization Nationalist Front, which was banned in 1992 (FPÖ called this moment of the biography “the sin of youth”) . His mother, Elisabeth, was Austrian Minister of Social Affairs in 2000, also from the FPÖ.