Andreas Singler Refuses to Back Down from Demand

The University of Freiburg confirms its firm intention to achieve a complete explanation of the pasts of Freiburg sports medicine professors and insists on the publication of the expert reports on Jospeph Keul and Armin Klümper.

In the meeting on 2 February 2017 concerning additional payments and the publication of the expert reports on Joseph Keul and Armin Klümper by the University of Freiburg, the sports scientist Dr. Andreas Singler demanded a fee of around €100,000. He backed up this demand by citing his former freelance contract with the University Medical Center, which was cancelled on 31 July 2015. On account of the cancellation of this contractual relationship, Singler has no legitimate claim to further payments from the University Medical Center or the University of Freiburg.

However, Singler stuck to his demand of around €100,000 when the university made him an initial offer for a settlement in the meeting on 2 February 2017 – in fact, he broke off the meeting. Nevertheless, the university made him a second offer for a settlement in writing after the meeting, requesting him to respond by 13 March 2017. On 14 March 2017, Singler rejected this offer, refused to submit the two expert reports, and declared that the negotiations had failed. He never made the university a counteroffer to reach a amicable agreement.

Andreas Singler was appointed as assistant to the commission on 21 June 2010; his contract ended on 31 July 2015. He received payments via a freelance contract made with the University Medical Center at his own request – initially €2500 per month, then, in the period from 1 December 2014 to 30 June 2015, €5000 per month. Singler was responsible for assisting the commission's chair in this capacity, not for writing his own reports.

Moreover, Singler was a voluntary member of the Evaluation Commission from September 2012 to May 2015. The university has already long since paid him the fee of €5000 per report, or a total of €25,000, as arranged with Prof. Paoli for all authors of expert reports. Furthermore, the university has paid Singler an additional fee of €8000 without being obliged to do so and has offered him an additional €12,000 as a voluntary payment. This last payment was meant as a concession to him for revisions made necessary by the mandatory external legal review of the expert reports on Joseph Keul and Armin Klümper and as a means of ensuring their speedy publication.

Apart from expenses – for archival work, meals, copies, and travel, among other things – Andreas Singler thus received a total of €172,500 for his work as assistant to the commission as well as around €33,000 for his work as a member of the Evaluation Commission.

Press release of 14 March 2017