Hertha needed a comeback play-off win at SV Hamburg on Monday to retain their Bundesliga status and Gegenbauer stepped down on Tuesday as the chaos at the club continued.

Interim coach Felix Magath has already said he will not stay on and a new coach is expected to be installed shortly.

Gegenbauer has been in a war of words with Windhorst despite his investment and let rip to German media on Wednesday.

“He has set the club on fire in recent weeks, in the midst of a relegation battle. Windhorst is responsible for a split that has severely unsettled the club and all departments,” Gegenbauer said.

A spokesman for Windhorst shrugged off the accusations as the investor looks to consolidate his power at a shareholder meeting on Sunday. But Bundesliga rules prevent one individual owning a majority stake.

“We see with respect that Werner Gegenbauer has cleared the way for a new beginning. The very personal, baseless attacks against Lars Windhorst have nothing to do with a new beginning. Kicking someone when they are down is however not our style,” Windhorst’s spokesman Andreas Fritzenkötter told dpa.