What had happened?
Schlotterbeck sees red – Kovac has a guess
Updated on 02/26/2026 – 03:07 amReading time: 1 min.
In the wild final phase of Borussia Dortmund’s playoff game at Atalanta Bergamo, Nico Schlotterbeck was shown the red card. He didn’t find out the reason for this from the referee.
It wasn’t just Nico Schlotterbeck who was puzzled about his red card in stoppage time after Borussia Dortmund’s dramatic Champions League exit at Atalanta Bergamo. The referee “couldn’t explain the reason for the punishment to me even after the game,” the Bundesliga club’s defender said via Instagram after the 1:4 (0:2) defeat.
In the turmoil surrounding the VAR penalty against BVB, the Spanish referee José María Sánchez showed Bergamo’s defenders Giorgio Scalvini and Schlotterbeck the red card – even though the Dortmund player had not played.
Schlotterbeck himself described the scene like this: “After what felt like ten Atalanta players jumped up at the same time and complained loudly, I also stood up and told them to sit down again. Without insults, without disrespect or anything else.”
BVB coach Niko Kovač was also surprised by the decision, but at least offered an explanation. “The only thing you can perhaps blame Nico for is that he was on the other side. I know that as a coach you are not allowed to be in the other coach’s coaching zone. That can be the only reason, because otherwise there was nothing there,” said Kovač.
