The DFB relies on experience in the Bundesliga top game: Marco Fritz again leads Bayern and Dortmund onto the pitch – his line should be clear.
Knows the Bayern-BVB duel very well – especially in the Allianz Arena: Marco Fritz, here with Sebastian Rode and Franck Ribery in April 2017.
imago images/Fotostand
Although there are new, young top game candidates among the Bundesliga referees, the DFB has entrusted Marco Fritz, one of its most experienced referees, with the management of the Bundesliga summit between FC Bayern and Borussia Dortmund on Saturday (6.30 p.m., LIVE! at kicker) . This is by no means a first for the 45-year-old banker from Korb.
Fritz is officiating this match for the fifth time, and for the fourth time in the Allianz Arena – and the game did not end well for BVB. He was there when FC Bayern defeated Borussia 5-1 on October 4, 2015, 4-1 on April 8, 2017 and 4-2 on March 6, 2021. In each case, he earned the kicker grade of 2.5 and impressed with his generous line.
The last time Fritz helped the VAR – in the 2016 final it wasn’t possible
In the last duel, the 4-2, which was preceded by an early 2-0 lead for the guests around coach Edin Terzic, Fritz was lucky that VAR saved him from a bad decision. Shortly before the break he had overlooked Mo Dahoud’s clear foul on Kingsley Coman, before he corrected himself after looking at the pictures and Robert Lewandowski – in front of empty ranks – scored from the penalty spot to make it 2-2 in the meantime.
Fritz’ faux pas from the only Bayern BVB game that did not take place in Munich was even more clearly remembered. In the 2016 DFB Cup final, which Bayern won dramatically 4-3 on penalties in Berlin, he didn’t punish Franck Ribery’s assault on Gonzalo Castro with red in the first round – the VAR didn’t exist yet. Fritz, who otherwise whistled properly, received the kicker grade of 4.5.
No sending off for 39 games
Overall, Fritz – at least according to the data – is not a friend of dismissals. Since March 7, 2020 (yellow-red for Marvin Friedrich/Union), he has not sent a player to the shower prematurely in 39 Bundesliga appearances.
In the current season, Fritz, who was VAR at the 2022 World Cup and will also act as such at the Women’s World Cup this summer, has a kicker average grade of 2.43 in seven appearances, including the Revierderby between Schalke and Dortmund (2:2, kicker score 2) and two Bayern games: 3:0 against Union Berlin (2) and 0:1 in Augsburg (3.5).
In the previous season, Fritz lost his grade point average (3.31) on the first day of the game when he denied the hosts two possible penalties and received a 5 in Bayern’s 1-1 draw in Gladbach. It was his last to date, in the most recent 13 missions there was not even a 4 before the decimal point.
