In late February, the news broke that Jerring Award winner Truls Möregårdh – double OS silver medalist last summer – is in a conflict with the Swedish Table Tennis Association.
A few weeks later, it was announced that Tobias Bergman is leaving his position as captain of the women's and men's national teams.
After all the reporting, the association's chairman Dennis Lindahl and secretary general Thomas Buza sent a letter to the table tennis districts, which Skånska Dagbladet was the first to report on.
"Throwing a spanner in the works"
The association writes in the letter – dated March 19 – that "what is happening is nothing other than a planned attack that is unfolding before our eyes".
What do you mean by that?
I don't want to say more than that we know roughly what's behind this. There are so many things that have happened almost simultaneously, so we don't see it as anything other than that there are those who want to throw a spanner in the works, and I don't know why, says Thomas Buza to TT, without going into more detail about who "they" are referring to.
Lindahl and Buza also describe how family members of people within the association have been directly affected by what is happening "through both direct threats and harassment".
It wouldn't have happened otherwise. We're not used to this at all. It's clear it's fun that we're getting attention, but we're not used to it being like this.
Have you reported the threats and harassment to the police?
I don't want to go into that.
Losing millions?
In the letter, a picture is painted of the association "risking, as a consequence of what has been in the media, to lose several new sponsors who do not want to be associated with this type of headline". A total of 6-7 million kronor is at stake, according to the association.
We haven't missed them (the millions). We risked missing them. Now we're trying to find the right way and talk, it won't be like that, I think, says Thomas Buza now.
But our brand may not be thrilled to be associated with this. That's what I think is the saddest, he adds.
Regarding the conflict with Truls Möregårdh, who, among other things, wants his brother Malte Möregårdh as match coach at World Championship tournaments instead of the coaches appointed by the association, work is still being done to find a solution.
We're also looking at how the organization should look in the future, but I don't want to say more now. We're trying to find a solution that will be as optimal as possible for everyone, says Thomas Buza.
In February, it emerged that the Swedish Table Tennis Association and star Truls Möregårdh are in a conflict.
The main issue, according to the association, is that Möregårdh wants a different solution on the coaching side even at tournaments designated as national team competitions. This is so that he "can feel safe and develop optimally", says secretary general Thomas Buza.
"He has conveyed that to us, that it's extremely important to him, and then we have to try to investigate and see how we can make it work somehow", says Buza to TT.
The association covers the costs for European Championship, World Championship, and World Cup tournaments, but also for certain World Tour tournaments (WTT) that the association has deemed national team competitions.
"We cover all costs and we also have a coach on site, we send a national team captain", says Buza.
On other WTT tournaments, the players have to cover their own costs.
