And later on Tuesday, news broke that 12 Hong Kong football players and coaches, including a number from the city’s Premier League, had been arrested on charges of match-fixing, and placing illegal bets on games.
Luisser said the development was “s*** for the whole city”. He recalled a match-fixing scandal involving a player from SK Grodig, where Luisser was assistant coach, and which led to former Austria Vienna player Sanel Kuljic being sentenced to five years in prison.
“We had a crazy story at my former club in Austria – anything like this is a big hit for a nation,” Luisser said. “Everyone is guessing [who is involved], it is not good for the Hong Kong FA.”
Luisser, nevertheless, said the latest Hong Kong scandal would neither overshadow the meetings with Iran on Thursday and Turkmenistan on June 11, nor distract him from the significant task in hand.
Luisser met Andersen for “one last drink” after the former coach’s exit. “He offered me advice, and said I could always text or call him,” Luisser said.
However, the 44-year-old rejected the idea he was auditioning to permanently fill Andersen’s shoes, and said he had been in a similar position before in 2019 when he took temporary charge of another Austrian side, SCR Altach.
“I haven’t thought about it, we have to perform well in these two games, and
want to continue what Jorn did: to play forward, attack high, and press,” Luisser said.
“There are a lot of different things to do. I have to lead more, and think about the messages I want to send.”
Nor did Luisser complain about a wave of absences, with out-of-contract players not possessing the insurance to feature.
Helio Goncalves, the veteran centre back, signed a new contract with Kitchee over the weekend, and is part of the squad.
https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3265216/hong-kong-interim-football-coach-wolfgang-luisser-laments-not-good-match-fixing-news-surprised