LENS, France (AP) — French club Lens fired manager Dino Toppmöller on Tuesday after just six games in charge, saying that diverging views with the German coach could not be resolved.
Lens, in 10th place in Ligue 1 after finishing second behind Paris Saint-Germain last season, said Yannick Cahuzac will take temporary charge for Friday's match at Monaco.
“Following numerous discussions regarding the squad and the coaching staff’s operations and organization, (Lens) informed its head coach of its intention to restructure the staff,” Lens said. “As Dino Toppmöller could not align with these structural changes, the club made the responsible decision to terminate his tenure, as well as that of his two assistants.”
Lens added that Toppmöller, who signed a two-year contract in June, waved away a “substantial amount” of his severance pay.
The 45-year-old Toppmöller previously coached Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga. When he arrived, Toppmöller pledged to play a high-octane brand of attacking soccer at Lens.
He started well as French Cup winner Lens beat PSG in the French Super Cup — despite playing the second half with 10 players — and then won 5-2 at home over Auxerre.
But Lens lost the next two league games and salvaged a 2-2 draw at Le Mans last Sunday after going 2-0 down. That followed a 3-2 away win over Sparta Prague in the Champions League, where Lens twice fell behind before winning with two injury-time goals.
Toppmöller was fired by Frankfurt in January following a lean spell, where the team also leaked goals. But he had impressively led Frankfurt into the Champions League after finishing third in the Bundesliga during the 2024-25 season.
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FILE - Frankfurt's head coach Dino Toppmöller arrives for the German Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt in Leipzig, Germany, Dec. 6, 2025. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The board of the Kennedy Center voted Tuesday to close the facility amid financial issues and a dispute over putting President Donald Trump’s name on the iconic performing arts venue, according to people familiar with the matter.
Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick participated in the board meeting, according to one of the people. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss a private meeting. Lutnick's wife, Allison, is a member of the Trump-appointed board.
Prior to Tuesday's board meeting, a federal judge blocked the Kennedy Center board from adding Trump's name to the structure or grounds, saying it would violate an earlier ruling that his name was illegally added to the building.
Judge Christopher Cooper ruled, “Simply put, Defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing.”
After the board added Trump's name above Kennedy's, Cooper ruled in May that only Congress can approve changes to the Kennedy Center’s name. The board responded by erecting an elevated tarp which obscures Trump’s name and most of Kennedy’s.
The board had recently floated multiple options for getting Trump’s name on the grounds, including inscriptions like “Renovation and endowment overseen by President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Kennedy Center Fund.” Another option: “With Gratitude for Support from President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Kennedy Center Fund.”
The board's proposal flatly states that “without such appropriate recognition” it’s unlikely that Trump will financially support what the board says are desperately needed renovations.
Cooper, in his Tuesday ruling, noted “the government plays word games.”
In a scheduling hearing Tuesday morning, prior to the release of his ruling and prior to the board's vote, Cooper appealed to lawyers for both sides to find a mediated solution to the fate of the performing arts center. The center’s board has claimed the building is in desperate physical shape and the institution is close to insolvency.
“Is it possible to turn down the temperature a little bit?” Cooper asked. “I’m not ordering you to do it, but there is a larger public interest here.”
But Cooper's appeal for common ground was largely subsumed by the board vote a few hours later.
Trump weighed in on social media shortly after the vote, claiming the closure was necessary for public safety and strongly implying that the fate of the Kennedy Center depended largely on whether his name is attached.
“The Renovation and Reconstruction, which is a very large and complex job, cannot begin until such time as the D.C. Circuit rules on the Board’s approved name,” he wrote. “If the ruling is a negative one, which it should not be ... the Reconstruction and the Renovation of The Kennedy Center will not take place.”
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, is seen, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Visitors walk at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
An sculpture of President John F. Kennedy is seen at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as seen from the Washington Monument, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
