Christian Constantin (born 7 January 1957) is a Swiss architect and former goalkeeper. He is also the owner and Chairman of Swiss football club

FC Sion Football Club Sion, commonly known as simply FC Sion or Sion, is a Swiss Association football, football club from the city of Sion, Switzerland, Sion. The club was founded in 1909 and play their home matches at the Stade Tourbillon. They have wo ...

. He bought the club, which had neared bankruptcy and was relegated from the

Swiss Super League The Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current fo ...

, in 2003.

Controversies

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. In 2017, he kicked Austrian pundit and former coach

Rolf Fringer Rolf Fringer (born 26 January 1957) is an Austrian football manager and former player. He has managed the Switzerland national team and numerous Swiss football clubs. Career Fringer led FC Aarau to the 1992–93 Swiss national title. At FC L ...

down to the ground on live television during a Swiss league match for which he received a 14-month ban. In 2023, he fired Sion's then-manager David Bettoni at half-time during a match against

Servette Servette is a district of the city of Geneva, Switzerland. The district's name comes from the Latin word for forest, ''silva'', and means "little forest". Its name alludes to Servette's rural past, before Geneva grew beyond its walls and incorpora ...

before forcing him to stand on the side lines for the remainder of the game. In a separate episode, he verbally confronted

Mario Balotelli Mario Balotelli Barwuah (; ''Birth name, né'' Barwuah; born 12 August 1990) is an Italian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for club Genoa CFC, Genoa. Balotelli started his ...

(whom he had signed). In 2011, Constantin signed six players under a transfer ban because of what happened with

Essam El-Hadary Essam Kamal Tawfiq El Hadary (; born 15 January 1973) is an Egyptian goalkeeping coach and former professional footballer. Nicknamed the "High Dam", El Hadary spent the largest portion of his club career with Al Ahly, with whom he won seven Egyp ...

’s transfer, and appeared on live TV on a horse.

Career

Yet under his presidency, the club also experienced considerable success, such as winning the

Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup competition that has been organised annually since 1925–26 season by the Swiss Football Association. The Swiss Cup final is usually the most important game of the year with a high attendance. The co ...

in 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2015. Constantin was formerly a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

who played for

Neuchâtel Xamax Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel. Since the fusion in 2021 of the municipalities of Neuchâtel, Corcelles-Cormondrèche, Peseux, and Valangin, the city has ap ...

(1977–1979),

FC Lugano FC Lugano is a Swiss professional football club based in Lugano. The club was refounded as AC Lugano in 2004 as a result of relegation and the financial situation of FC Lugano, which was founded in 1908. In 2008, the club reverted to its origina ...

(1979–1980),

FC Monthey FC Monthey is an association football club from Monthey, Switzerland. The club currently play in the 1. Liga Classic, the fourth tier of Swiss football. History FC Monthey has played one season in the Swiss premier division Swiss Super League, S ...

(1981–1982) and

FC Martigny-Sports Football Club Martigny-Sports, is a football club from Martigny Martigny (; , ; ) is the capital city of the district of Martigny (district), Martigny, cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Valais, Valais, Switzerland. It lies at an ele ...

(1983–1984). 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 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

and suspension of the Swiss Super League. In 2014, Constantin appointed his son Barthélémy as Sporting Director of FC Sion, a position he has held ever since.

References

External links

* 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 Footballers from Valais 20th-century Swiss sportsmen {{Switzerland-footy-goalkeeper-stub