Christian Constantin
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 7 January 1957 | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1977–1979 | Neuchâtel Xamax | 0 | (0) |
| 1979–1980 | FC Lugano | 0 | (0) |
| 1981–1982 | FC Monthey | 0 | (0) |
| 1983–1984 | FC Martigny-Sports | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 0 | (0) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Christian Constantin (born 7 January 1957) is a Swiss architect and former goalkeeper.[1] He is also the owner and Chairman of Swiss football club FC Sion.[2] He bought the club, which had neared bankruptcy and was relegated from the Swiss Super League, in 2003.[1]
Controversies
[edit]During his ownership of FC Sion, Constantin has made upwards of 50 managerial changes and appointed himself as manager in 2008 and 2021. He once fired a head coach because of his scent and allegedly assaulted Swiss league referee Markus von Känel in 2004 during a live match broadcast.[3] In 2017, he kicked Austrian pundit and former coach Rolf Fringer down to the ground on live television during a Swiss league match for which he received a 14-month ban.[4][5]
In 2023, he fired Sion's then-manager David Bettoni at half-time during a match against Servette before forcing him to stand on the side lines for the remainder of the game.[6] In a separate episode, he verbally confronted Mario Balotelli (whom he had signed). In 2011, Constantin signed six players under a transfer ban because of what happened with Essam El-Hadary’s transfer,[7] and appeared on live TV on a horse.
Career
[edit]Yet under his presidency, the club also experienced considerable success, such as winning the Swiss Cup in 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2015.
Constantin was formerly a goalkeeper who played for Neuchâtel Xamax (1977–1979), FC Lugano (1979–1980), FC Monthey (1981–1982) and FC Martigny-Sports (1983–1984).[8]
In March 2020, Constantin sacked 9 of his FC Sion first-team players after they refused to take a pay cut after the outbreak of the COVID-19 and suspension of the Swiss Super League.[9]
In 2014, Constantin appointed his son Barthélémy as Sporting Director of FC Sion, a position he has held ever since.[10]
References
[edit]- ^ a b McGuire, Annie (17 August 2011). "Sion president the embodiment of a controversial club". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
- ^ "Ambitious FC Sion President Divides Swiss Opinion". Inside Futbol. 2010-12-13. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
- ^ zentralplus, Redaktion (22 September 2017). "Constantin-Skandal: Der Wiederholungstäter". zentralplus (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ "FC Sion president vows to defy ban for attacking TV commentator". The Guardian. Reuters. 13 October 2017. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ "Christian Constantin: Sion chief gets 14-month ban for slapping Rolf Fringer". BBC. 12 October 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- ^ Wettstein, Mischi. "FC Sion: Wild-West-Szenen in der Kabine – CC dreht komplett durch". Nau (in German). Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ "Celtic get Europa League lifeline after Sion expelled". BBC Sport. BBC. 2 September 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
- ^ Weltfussball
- ^ "Swiss club sacks players who refused coronavirus pay cut". ESPN. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- ^ Feller, Bastien (20 May 2024). "Sion est de retour en Super League". Blick. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
External links
[edit]- Official website (in English)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
.svg){kind=small}  | This biographical article related to a football goalkeeper from Switzerland is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1957 births
- Living people
- People from Martigny
- Swiss men's footballers
- Men's association football goalkeepers
- Neuchâtel Xamax FCS players
- FC Monthey players
- FC Lugano players
- FC Martigny-Sports players
- Swiss architects
- Swiss football managers
- Swiss football chairmen and investors
- FC Sion managers
- Sportspeople from Valais
- 20th-century Swiss sportsmen
- Swiss football goalkeeper stubs