“The verdict is final”
After referee scolding: punishment for Bundesliga coach has been determined
March 25, 2026 – 2:16 p.mReading time: 1 min.
After the Freiburg defeat, Alexander Blessin publicly questioned the impartiality of the referee. The DFB sports court is now drawing conclusions.
The DFB sports court has fined FC St. Pauli coach Alexander Blessin 10,000 euros for unsportsmanlike conduct. The German Football Association (DFB) announced this on Wednesday. “The verdict is final,” it said.
Blessin had recently become upset with referee Florian Badstübner after the 2-1 defeat against SC Freiburg in the fight against relegation from the Bundesliga and, according to the DFB, “questioned his impartiality”.
After the game, Blessin said on the DAZN microphone that his team “didn’t play against eleven men, but against twelve and that was the referee.” He continued: “There were a lot of little things. If a referee gives me a yellow card and smiles really scornfully at me, then I find it disrespectful. Even if I’m emotional outside. Before the first goal, there were also three situations in which he allowed the game to continue. Now you can say again, bad loser, everything is fine.”
At the subsequent press conference, the 52-year-old regretted his choice of words. “The statement I made to DAZN wasn’t clever. It happened out of emotion, you have to admit that. There’s a lot at stake here,” said Blessin, who is fighting with Pauli against relegation from the Bundesliga.
