The referees were wrong three times on Saturday in the Bundesliga. Marco Fritz self-critically analyzed the wrong decisions at Sky.
On Saturday evening, Marco Fritz, head of rule interpretation at the German Football Association, was seen in his living room. The Sky broadcaster had him on its Bundesliga show “All games, all goals”; there were a few controversial referee decisions from the afternoon games to judge. Fritz, 48, put on a tidy appearance, which wasn’t just due to his white shirt and his tidy living room. Afterwards, probably the greatest possible praise, expressed by Sky-Obermotzki Didi Hamann: “I like Mr. Fritz, he can come back.”
An official’s self-criticism on behalf of the referees was well received. The relaxed Mr. Fritz ruled that three penalty decisions during the afternoon were incorrect. At the game between Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen (1:3), Leverkusen captain Robert Andrich kicked Frankfurt striker Arnaud Kalimuendo in the leg from behind (5th minute of the game). No penalty was the wrong decision made by the referee on the pitch, and the VAR then sent it out to the screen. Schröder remained stubborn. “He said that the attacker had clearly placed his foot in that direction,” Fritz explained Schröder’s puzzling thoughts on Sky, but made it clear: “The hit is so clear that there should have been a penalty.”
Incidentally, Delinquent Andrich had a similar view: “I wouldn’t have complained too much if he had given it, and I would also have been of the opinion that he would give it when he went out.”
In the game FC Augsburg against FC St. Pauli (2:1), the guests took the lead with a penalty kick because Paulian Manolis Saliakas was hit in the leg by Augsburg’s Marius Wolf. Wolf had previously deflected the ball cleanly away. Referee Sascha Stegemann immediately pointed to the penalty spot, but the VAR did not activate. The Fritz analysis: “Saliakas moves into Wolf’s completely legitimate defensive action and is therefore responsible for the contact. No penalty would have been the right decision.”
Yes, and then there was the game in Leipzig, hosted by FSV Mainz 05 (1:2). David Raum from Leipzig and Phillip Tietz from Mainz collided. Who should have fouled whom or not fouled whom remained unclear, even in slow motion. “Letting us continue playing would have been the most sensible decision,” said Fritz. Referee Daniel Schlager had whistled a penalty for Mainz, the VAR remained silent, neither one nor the other made sense. Nadiem Amiri made it 1-1.
“I don’t feel like discussing it anymore,” said the deeply frustrated room. But it’s a bit fun. Or, Didi Hamann?
