Should the referee have blown the whistle?
“Absolutely inexplicable”: HSV coach angry after bankruptcy
01/10/2026 – 9:28 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Hamburg played outnumbered for a long time in Freiburg and gave up their lead. Coach Polzin was angry that the decisive goal counted.
Merlin Polzin complained massively in the Breisgau snowstorm. “I’ve seen it several times, from different perspectives. It’s absolutely inexplicable to me. Our player is hit in the face, with his elbow,” complained the Hamburger SV coach about referee Timo Gerach and the VAR after the 1:2 (0:0) at SC Freiburg: “It’s inexplicable to me how the game continues after a head hit and we lose the game.”
Polzin’s excitement resulted from the scene immediately before Freiburg’s decisive goal by substitute Igor Matanović (83′). During a header duel, Hamburg’s Jordan Torunarigha was hit with the elbow by Freiburg’s Johan Manzambi. However, Gerach’s whistle failed to materialize, as did video assistant Arne Aarnink’s veto.
HSV also started the new year as an away point provider. With ten men, the promoted team lost despite being in the lead when the Bundesliga restarted and has been waiting for a first division victory abroad for almost eight years. In the first game since the surprising withdrawal of sports director Stefan Kuntz, Daniel Elfadli was shown a yellow-red card for repeated foul play (51st).
Vincenzo Grifo with a penalty kick (53′) and Hamburg native Matanović (83′) scored for Freiburg, who are unbeaten at home in eleven competitive games. HSV remains the only team without a three-pointer on the opponent’s pitch this season. The North Germans, where former national team manager Oliver Bierhoff and Austrian national coach Ralf Rangnick are being discussed as Kuntz’s successor, have so far only scored two of a possible 24 points away from home. The lead by Luka Vušković (49th) was of no use.