Pal Dardai celebrates with Filip Uremovic after beating Stuttgart Photo: REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
From BZ/dpa
Tension in the relegation battle following this weekend’s results.
Sebastian Hoeneß and Pal Dardai agreed after their direct duel in the relegation battle of the Bundesliga: The controversial penalty decision in favor of fellow competitor FC Schalke 04 the previous evening in the late 3: 2 of the Royal Blues at FSV Mainz 05 must simply be accepted as a fact – Discussions are useless.
“Whether the referee or the weather decides a game, at the end of the season you have the points you deserve. And if you then descend with it, you deserve it. And if you win at it, you deserve it. And that’s why I won’t concern myself with this decision any further,” said Hertha coach Dardai on Saturday evening.
Pal Dardai and Stuttgart’s coach Sebastian Hoeneß before the game in the Olympic Stadium Photo: REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
His Stuttgart colleague Hoenß also did not want to get involved in a discussion about the decision of referee Matthias Jöllenbeck. “The decision was made that way and has led to the corresponding outcome. I think that especially in the final phase of a season there will always be results and situations that may or may not suit you. That’s why it’s no use for us to react in any way now,” said the VfB coach.
Schalke’s goal from the penalty spot by Marius Bülter came late in added time to the important win for them. Jöllenbeck had previously rated Bülter’s jersey pulled by Mainz’s Anthony Caci as a foul after studying a video.
As a result, S04 jumped to 15th place in the Bundesliga table with 30 points. Stuttgart is 16th with 28 points. Hertha remains bottom of the table with 25 points despite the 2-1 win against Stuttgart.