After the cup exit in Berlin, Filip Jicha from THW Kiel is completely exhausted. The coach settles accounts with the referee duo. He fights back tears and speaks of “a certain bonus”.
Kiel’s emotionally exhausted coach Filip Jicha fought back tears after the thriller in the German Handball Cup at Füchse Berlin. He could no longer hide his anger at the referee duo.
“I’m happy to be a sore loser today. We’re destroyed. It hurts incredibly. It was incredibly difficult for me, for my team, for my boys to deal with these referees for the third time,” said the THW coach after the dramatic 30:32 in the quarter-finals against the German champions.
Jicha’s criticism was directed at the referees Robert Schulze and Tobias Tönnies, who had already been in action in Kiel’s defeats against Berlin in the Supercup and in the Bundesliga a few weeks ago. Immediately after the end of the game, neither wanted to comment on the allegations. The team is considered one of the best in Germany and was recently named “Referee of the Season” for the fifth time in a row.
“You play against Berlin three times, the same referees blow the whistle three times. I don’t understand it. I’m sorry. We’re working our asses off here. This is professional sport with dedication. It’s not appropriate,” Jicha continued to complain. Immediately after the final whistle, the Czech stormed towards the referees in a rage and spoke loudly to them.
Jicha: “Something that will take me an incredibly long time to digest”
From his point of view, the referees contributed significantly to the outcome of the game with several controversial decisions. Many whistles were actually difficult to understand from the sidelines: However, the 50:50 decisions in the first half were predominantly in favor of Kiel, and after the break they were more in favor of Berlin.
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Jicha didn’t want to name a specific situation, but said with regard to Berlin’s world handball player Mathias Gidsel: “Mathias is one of the best of us. Rightly so. I was a world handball player myself. I know that you get a certain bonus.”
At the press conference, the 43-year-old was visibly fighting back tears and seemed completely emotionally exhausted. “I’m simply destroyed. I have no energy left to talk about Schulze and Tönnies. It’s something I’ll have to digest for an incredibly long time,” said Jicha dejectedly.
dpa/mel
