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DHB Cup: THW Kiel and Flensburg-Handewitt are eliminated (3 min)
As of: December 19, 2025 9:22 p.m
After his THW Kiel’s cup exit at Füchse Berlin, coach Filip Jicha was “happy to be a bad loser”: The Czech made no secret of his anger at the referee duo – and even fought back tears.
Immediately after the final whistle, the THW coach stormed towards the referees Robert Schulze and Tobias Tönnies in a rage and spoke loudly to them. After one or two 50:50 decisions in the first half went for Kiel, after the break there were also some decisions that were difficult to understand for the Füchse and especially world handball player Mathias Gidsel.
Jicha spoke of “a certain bonus” for the Dane and was visibly and audibly annoyed that his team had lost to the Berliners for the third time this season – for the third time (after the Supercup and Bundesliga) under the leadership of Schulze/Tönnies.
Jicha: “I’m happy to be a sore loser today”
“I’m happy to be a sore loser today. We’re destroyed. It hurts incredibly. It was incredibly difficult for me, for my team, for my boys to deal with these referees for the third time,” said the 43-year-old coach Jicha after the dramatic 30:32 in the quarter-finals against the German champions.
Impartial people remain silent
In the Supercup, the Kiel team had lost as cup winners against the champions a few days before the start of the season with 33:34 after a seven-meter throw. A 29:33 followed in Berlin in mid-November. And now the missed Final Four for the DHB Cup.
“I’m just destroyed. It’s something I’ll take an incredibly long time to digest.”
THW coach Filip Jicha
Schulze and Tönnies did not want to comment on the allegations after the end of the game. However, the team is considered one of the best in Germany and was recently named “Referee of the Season” for the fifth time in a row.
Jicha fights back tears
But Jicha simply can’t see the duo anymore: “You play against Berlin three times, the same referees blow the whistle three times. I don’t understand it. I’m sorry. We’re working our asses off here. This is professional sport with dedication. It’s not appropriate,” complained the former world handball player, who didn’t want to name a specific situation in his criticism.
At the press conference, Jicha was visibly fighting back tears and seemed completely emotionally exhausted. “I’m simply destroyed. I no longer have any energy to talk about Schulze and Tönnies. It’s something I’ll have to digest for an incredibly long time,” he explained dejectedly.
