TV expert beside himself because of the referee
“Fall away from the faith at some point”
April 25, 2026 – 8:24 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Referee Robert Hartmann gives a penalty and rows back after the game. This pisses TV expert Dietmar Hamann off.
Dietmar Hamann sharply criticized referee Robert Hartmann. The referee had previously awarded a penalty in the game between Cologne and Leverkusen and then admitted an alleged mistake.
In the 41st minute of the game, Cologne’s Eric Martel received the ball in the penalty area. The arm was raised, but the upper body, including the hand, actively went towards the ball. Hartmann immediately decided on a penalty and was not alerted by the VAR to a possible wrong decision. Leverkusen’s Patrick Schick remained ice cold and took the lead 1-0.
After the game, however, Hartmann revised on Sky: “The arm is very, very close to the body. I would feel better after the game if I had decided to continue playing.” That was the moment that was apparently too much for Hamann. Immediately afterwards, Hamann explained angrily: “Hartmann managed to make me, I think, speechless for the first time.”
Hamann then continued his reaction, according to him it was a clear penalty: “I was just thinking to myself, maybe it would be good if the other team said…” He then took a short break, obviously thinking. “He goes to the ball with his hand, with his arm! It doesn’t matter at all whether the arm is spread apart or folded in.”
Hamann made it clear that it was a deliberate handball for him. He summed up the lack of understanding well: “I’ll lose faith at some point! Now we have a decision today that he made correctly. And then he stands up afterwards and says he didn’t give the penalty. I need a short break now.”
