When FC Bayern asks Borussia Dortmund to fight for the German championship on Saturday evening (6:30 p.m.), the man at the whistle is called Marco Fritz. For the 45-year-old it is the fifth time as a referee in a duel between the two Bundesliga greats. A circumstance that should make BVB frown.
In the four previous duels between FC Bayern and BVB, in which Fritz was the referee, only the people of Munich celebrated. On October 4th, 2015, Dortmund were defeated 5:1, on April 8th, 2017, the black and yellow shot 4:1 from the Allianz Arena and on March 6th, 2021 the result of a memorable game was 4:2 – die Borussia had even led 2-0 in Munich back then.
It was only close in the 2016 DFB Cup, when Bayern only won the final on penalties.
In any case, BVB’s balance sheet reads rather poorly under Fritz’s leadership. The Ruhr area club won 13 of 27 league games, but also lost nine games and shared the points five times. Most recently, Fritz whistled the 2-2 win in the district derby against FC Schalke 04.
Blaming the referee for this would be far too easy. Fritz has never sent a Borussia player off and never dealt more than three yellow cards in a game.
What was striking, however, was that Fritz decided on penalties three times against Borussia, the opponents were FC Bayern each time.
No home bankruptcy of FC Bayern under Marco Fritz
Incidentally, the Munich team should interpret the appointment as a good omen. Of 33 games under Fritz’ management, they won 24 (5 draws, 3 defeats). They are even unbeaten in front of their home crowd (17 wins, 3 draws).
In referee Fritz, the German Football Association relies on experience for the explosive title duel in which former Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel makes his debut as Bayern coach.
According to the DFB, Fritz has refereed 189 Bundesliga games since 2009. In his 190th game in Munich’s Allianz Arena he will be supported by Dominik Schaal, Marcel Pelgrim and Frank Willenborg.