Martin Hinteregger must answer to the court. © APA / ROBERT JAEGER

Curious scenes in court: Hinteregger trial postponed

The trial against Carinthian football professional Martin Hinteregger for bodily harm was canceled on Wednesday after strange scenes at the Völkermarkt District Court.

19. February 2025

From: apa/det

Although the presiding judge was obviously not in a suitable state to hear the case, he initially did not want the hearing to be interrupted or postponed. Only at the request of the district attorney Gerda Bogner and after a short internal discussion was the hearing adjourned.

The judge had previously spoken of a "stupid video" showing how the football professional - then a coach - pushed a fan to the ground off the pitch during a game in Mittlern (Völkermarkt district) on September 14th last year. "The private party's representative is therefore demanding a terrible punishment," said the judge. "The word 'terrible' does not come from my brief, by the way," replied Mariella Hackl, the victim's legal representative.

Hinteregger pleaded guilty

Hinteregger pleaded guilty in that he confirmed that he had given the man in question a "push": "I didn't think he would fall to the ground." The judge referred several times to Hinteregger's career and to the last two draws he had achieved against Salzburg and Hartberg: "You are a footballer who does his job quite well. And now something stupid happened."

The legal representative of the person concerned explained that it was terrible how the matter had been covered in the media. To date, Hinteregger has not apologized. For this reason, she demanded that the defendant pay 1.500 euros in compensation, which is to be donated to the Carinthian Football Association's "Fairness and Respect in Football" initiative.

Judge staggered through the courtroom

When the judge left the courtroom during the trial, he stumbled against the door several times. A short time later, another judge interrupted the trial and asked the presiding judge for a meeting. As he was leaving the courtroom, the presiding judge tripped over a raised platform and had to be supported by his colleague. After a total of one hour, the trial was adjourned.

As a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Justice told APA, it was a medical emergency: the judge was taken to hospital for assessment. There was no information about his health status as of early Wednesday afternoon.