Frankfurt / Main (dpa) – DFB referee chief Lutz Michael Fröhlich also takes on the referees after FC Bayern’s mistake in Freiburg.
“It would have been good if you had checked again before the game continued. That would have been the best thing for the referee,” said Fröhlich of the German Press Agency. The event was avoidable, said the former top referee. In their 4-1 win shortly before the end, the Munich team had twelve players on the field for a few seconds before referee Christian Dingert interrupted the match.
The wrong shirt number had previously been displayed when Kingsley Coman was substituted. The Frenchman obviously didn’t feel addressed and initially didn’t leave the field after a double substitution. “It was very complex,” said Fröhlich. Humanly, the confusion was understandable. “But complexity or not: It’s not nice that at the end of a football game it’s talked about,” said Fröhlich.
Referee Dingert: “Totally confused situation”
The referee boss wants to discuss the situation with the DFB referees again. “It has something to do with concentration and an overview. We have to talk to the referees about this again internally,” said Fröhlich.
Dingert recorded the events in his match report. He spoke on the Sky TV channel of a “totally confused situation”. It was initially unclear whether the German Football Association would intervene and check the game rating. It is unclear which passage of the DFB rules would apply in this case.
Video referee: Probably no consequences for FC Bayern
Referee Felix Zwayer does not necessarily expect consequences for FC Bayern from his mistake in the game at SC Freiburg. The 40-year-old Berliner was the video referee for the Bundesliga game on Saturday.
“In my view, it cannot be compared to the situation when a player who is not in the match report takes part in the game,” said Zwayer on ZDF’s “Aktuelle Sportstudio”. “In fact, the player who was on the pitch too much was basically an eligible player who was on the pitch at a time when he shouldn’t have been,” he explained. “That is regulated in the football rules and not in the statutes how to deal with it and how to proceed.”
“The fourth official was already checking the number of players at the time,” reported Zwayer. The signal went to Dingert both over the radio and through Schlotterbeck.
Zwayer stressed that the referee team was responsible for making the change in accordance with the rules. “In practice, in such cases, the task is left to the fourth official.” This ensures that the player to be replaced leaves the field and lets the new player onto the pitch.