FC Bayern cup game
ARD commentator receives criticism online
October 30, 2025 – 5:46 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
The German record champions are in the next round of the cup. Tom Bartels commented on the game against Cologne on ARD – and turned some people against him.
FC Bayern Munich confidently reached the next round of the DFB Cup and defeated 1. FC Köln 4-1 on Wednesday evening. However, the hosts scored the first goal of the game. Ragnar Ache scored the opening goal in the 31st minute and triggered emotions not only among the supporters in the Rheinenergiestadion. When the goal anthem was played, ARD commentator Tom Bartels spoke up – some social media users didn’t like that for a certain reason.
Bartels said: “The buzz is going in Cologne because Ragnar Ache finally crowns his strong performance at the back and at the front with the redeeming first goal.” Five minutes later, Munich equalized through Luis Díaz. Bartels commented on that again. According to some people online, however, it wasn’t as euphoric as Ache’s goal.
Bartels said of the Bayern star’s goal: “And then calmly look over to Stanišić and then the equalizer. Luiz Díaz.” Above all, some social media users, possibly Bayern fans, seemed to be bothered by the sentence “That’s Bayern. Don’t pay attention for a moment (…), and the beautiful lead is gone.”
One of them wrote on Another person said: “Tom Bartels isn’t in the mood for Bayern today either.” Another voice commented: “If you listen to Tom Bartels, there should have been around 12 penalties for Cologne by now.”
When Bartels was a guest on the “Football Finance” podcast in the fall, he also talked about how he deals with criticism and explained: “If six people praise you and one criticizes you – the criticism sticks. It was a process that took years until I dealt with it calmly.”