 |
| Daniel Siebert awarded a controversial penalty in the Paderborn - Dortmund game |
Both reviews can be found on this page, we start with the latest round of games from the weekend:
Marco Fritz in SC Freiburg - Bayer Leverkusen [VAR: Felix Brych]:
Not the most consistent foul detection, but no bigger mistakes. A goal at 62' was correctly disallowed for a push.
Guido Winkmann in VfL Wolfsburg - Eintracht Frankfurt [VAR: Tobias Reichel]:
Pedantic piece of refereeing - referee didn't present the most self-assured impression in this game. Second Yellow Card issued at +92' for showing a lack of respect to the game (LoR). Correct play on from a penalty appeal (handling) at 52'.
27' Penalty (holding) given
Philipp: Wrong decision in his view, because the holding is mutual and the attacker seems to fall deliberately (not caused by his opponent). However it was not a clear mistake in Philipp's view as there is some holding by the defender. Yellow Card is the correct sanction.
Mikael: I agree with Philipp - the correct restart here would be a defensive freekick. Tricky to say whether this constitutes a wrongly assessed Key Match Incident. Personally I would prefer a VAR intervention as the decision in theoretically wrong, however supporting a penalty call is clearly correct in the DFB paradigm.
Sven Jablonski in Hertha BSC - FC Augsburg [VAR: Benjamin Brand]:
Referee declined to show some possible Yellow Cards, overall well-handled game. Rather missed penalty at +47' but Philipp says he can understand why VAR didn't intervene (unclear) and an interesting incident at 75' where the referee declined to show a Second Yellow Card for dissent (player said "Are you f***ing kidding me?").
Referee declined to show some possible Yellow Cards, overall well-handled game. Rather missed penalty at +47' but Philipp says he can understand why VAR didn't intervene (unclear) and an interesting incident at 75' where the referee declined to show a Second Yellow Card for dissent (player said "Are you f***ing kidding me?").
Sascha Stegemann in FSV Mainz - 1899 Hoffenheim [VAR: Günter Perl]:
High (seven) number of Yellow Cards issued in the 1H - mostly for reckless fouls - was justified and successfully calmed the game in the 2H. Interesting penalty appeal at 68' - referee chose to play on; correctly disallowed goal at 60'. Referee spoilt a good afternoon by not showing a clear Second Yellow Card at 33'.
Felix Zwayer in Schalke 04 - Werder Bremen [VAR: Bastian Dankert]:
Despite allowing a lot of physical play, referee assured control of the match throughout; though, he missed a clear Second Yellow Card (51') for reckless striking.
78' Penalty (charging)?
Philipp: In Philipp's view the situation should be assessed as a penalty as the charge by the defender is too strong considering his low chance to play the ball (fairly). Correct no intervention in his view, as the situation is still a grey area.
Mikael: Tricky situation as the contact is after the attacker has executed his header, and is neither clearly careless or reckless - I tend to the former and prefer a play on call here, but I would say a genuine grey area.
Robert Hartmann in Bayern München - Fortuna Düsseldorf [VAR: Harm Osmers]:
Easy-going game that wasn't interesting for the refereeing; interesting offside situation before the 4-0.
Mikael: Tricky situation as the contact is after the attacker has executed his header, and is neither clearly careless or reckless - I tend to the former and prefer a play on call here, but I would say a genuine grey area.
Robert Hartmann in Bayern München - Fortuna Düsseldorf [VAR: Harm Osmers]:
Easy-going game that wasn't interesting for the refereeing; interesting offside situation before the 4-0.
Frank Willenborg in Borussia Mönchengladbach - 1.FC Union Berlin [VAR: Tobias Welz]:
Well-handled normal game.
Daniel Siebert in SC Paderborn 07 - Borussia Dortmund [VAR: Matthias Jöllenbeck]:
62' Penalty (handling) given
->: Both Philipp and Mikael agree that awarding a penalty (arms close to the body, natural movement, short distance) was a clear and obvious mistake, and VAR should have intervened. Presumably, the call was taken by AR Florian Heft, who probably thought the defender enlarged his body surface to block the shot - actually it's the force of the shot that moves the arm out. Understandable perception mistake, that should be rectified by an intervention.
(DFB have reportedly said that while this situation was less of a penalty than the one in the Der Klassiker game on Tuesday (see below), they support no intervention in both cases. Law 5 disagrees with this track, which evitably complicates refereeing further for both Video Match Officials and football fans alike.)
Solid performance; expected level.
Christian Dingert in 1.FC Köln - RB Leipzig [VAR: Tobias Stieler]:
Poor evening for the referee who presented an insecure foul detection. Very unluckily missed advantage at 61' after he correctly punished a reckless foul. Clearly incorrect penalty was changed after an OFR was initiated (72').
Patrick Ittrich in Werder Bremen - Eintracht Frankfurt [VAR: Sascha Stegemann]:
In this quite challenging rearranged game from Round 24, Ittrich solved it in a lenient way, missing some Yellow Cards in the 1H. Referee utilised his soft skills well, especially explaining to the players some VAR calls - all of which were solved correctly / acceptably.
Below, find a review of the midweek Round 28 games.
 |
| Tobias Stieler and Der Klassiker took centre stage in Round 28 |
Tobias Stieler in Borussia Dortmund - Bayern München [VAR: Sascha Stegemann]:
Overall: not faultless in his foul detection in a very dynamic game (Yellow Card at 74' was clearly wrong); very effective chatty communication with the players. Correct play on from a penalty (handling) appeal at 26'. Always in control despite some tricky situations.
58' Penalty (handling)?
Philipp: Penalty would be the correct decision, the arm is unnaturally increasing the body surface (and not used to support the body). However there are some opinions, that it still a grey area, claiming that it is a natural position, when turning away like Boateng. Therefore in his view, VAR should only have intervened if Stieler completely missed the handball, it's an important decision that should be taken by the referee himself. If Stieler had the correct perception, no OFR is correct, because it is not clear and obvious enough. Anyway, a RC would not be expected in such situations, although literally by the LotG it denies a goal-scoring opportunity.
Mikael: Penalty to be given - the only argument against a penalty, that the arm is used for co-ordination and balance, is voided as his slide is a last-resort attempt to block a shot, a save. VAR should intervene. Yellow Card is the correct sanction in my view.
+91': Penalty (charging)?
Philipp: Both decisions can be supported here in his view, because it is an individual assessment, whether you see it as legal use of the body or an illegal body-check/push. No VAR intervention therefore correct. Should not be a RC anyway, because Lewandowski doesn't move towards the goal. Stieler appeared very insecure in this situation, his body language was not clear and it seems he waited for the VAR input.
Mikael: In my view much more of a penalty than not as the attacker has won the position, before being charged over. That being said, the paradigm in Germany is surely to accept harder charges such as that, so not giving a penalty seems the smarter (and more consistent) choice.
Daniel Schlager in Bayer Leverkusen - VfL Wolfsburg [VAR: Markus Schmidt]:
Overall: Solid performance is tarnished by a clearly wrong handball free kick + Yellow Card at 64' which was directed scored for the 0-2 goal. In tricky situations at 5' (play on from a handling appeal) and 67' (potential Violent Conduct - Yellow Card given), Schlager chose the safer option.
71' Serious Foul Play by Leverkusen no.11?
-> Better choice is to assess that as only reckless, Leverkusen no.11 tries to minimise the impact of his accidental stamping.
Martin Petersen in Eintracht Frankfurt - SC Freiburg [VAR: Patrick Ittrich]:
Overall: No wrongly assessed Key Match Incidents, but also not very convincing. His line for the foul detection did not become really clear during the match and he didn't radiate much authority. Yellow Card at 30' was close to SFP, but as the contact point was the foot, the lesser sanction is more appropriate.
Manuel Gräfe in Werder Bremen - Borussia Mönchengladbach [VAR: Timo Gerach]:
Overall: He typically refereed the match with a lenient and consistent line, which was liked and accepted by the players. Besides 18', Gräfe faced two further interesting penalty calls - striking by the goalkeeper at 22' and a holding offence at 64'. While whistling them was perhaps the more technically correct decisions, Philipp acknowledges that often contacts by the goalkeeper such as in 22' are not punished and there was no conclusive evidence at 64'.
18' Penalty (tripping)?
Philipp: The small contact is enough to bring down the opponent and should result in a penalty. No VAR intervention could only be justified, if Gräfe had a clear perception himself (Werder manager said that Gräfe indeed told him he saw the situation clearly and decided it was not enough for him).
Mikael: Penalty has to be given, missed VAR intervention; no need to overcomplicate a clear situation in my view.
Bastian Dankert in RB Leipzig - Hertha BSC [VAR: Günter Perl]:
Overall: The important decisions (Second Yellow Card at 63' and a penalty at 82') were clearly correct. However he made several smaller mistakes during the match, so the performance is more satisfactory area than good.
Deniz Aytekin in FC Augsburg - SC Paderborn [VAR: Felix Zwayer]:
Overall: Referee was unchallenged in a decidedly uneventful match.
Tobias Welz in Fortuna Düsseldorf - Schalke 04 [VAR: Sven Jablonski]:
Overall: Very good performance in Philipp's view, a lenient foul selection without any obvious mistakes in his foul detection. Correct to not punish the light push before a goal at 63' - especially considering his line in this game.
Felix Brych in 1899 Hoffenheim - 1.FC Köln [VAR: Benjamin Brand]:
Overall: Well-handled game by the on-pitch officials, besides making three mistakes that were corrected by VAR interventions (two situations below and missed offside by Markus Sinn before a goal then-disallowed at 42'). After a consistent first half, he tried a more lenient foul selection in the second half, leading to some missed fouls. All seven cautions - including a Second Yellow Card at 50' - were justified.
24' Red Card (Serious Foul Play) given after an On-Field Review.
-> Correct, very dangerous tackle.
77' Penalty (handling) given after an On-Field Review.
77' Penalty (handling) given after an On-Field Review.
-> Correct, referee ought to have detected this without VAR intervention.
Robert Schröder in Union Berlin - FSV Mainz [VAR: Benjamin Cortus]:
Overall: Good comeback after injury. Not faultless, but overall well-refereed normal difficulty game: correct Second Yellow Card (reckless) at 33'; acceptable to not whistle a foul before a goal at 13' (the player gets to the ball first); very soft, maybe wrong free kick decision before a goal at 33'.
Bonus: Christian Dingert faced a tough 2.Bundesliga game between VfB Stuttgart - Hamburg SV in this round of matches. He awarded two controversial penalties - a handling offence; tripping by the goalkeeper.
