“Some paint got drunk”
Union coach rages after Bayern duel
November 8, 2025 – 9:49 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Union had annoyed Bayern for long stretches. In the end there was a draw – and an angry coach.
A controversial intervention by the video assistant (VAR) caused a stir in the 2-2 draw between Union Berlin and FC Bayern on Saturday. Coach Steffen Baumgart was furious after the final whistle: “There are things in the game that I can’t understand. The first goal is a goal,” the “Iron” coach initially said on Sky.
What had happened? Birthday boy Ilyas Ansah scored after nine minutes from a corner to give Union the supposed lead. But as against Freiburg, the video referee intervened because of an offside position. Lucky for Bayern: the goal was taken back – to Union Berlin’s incomprehension.
“These five millimeters? We’re talking about five millimeters,” said Baumgart, before complaining: “The decision to call it offside was a mistake.” He was sorry, but “I’ll draw that line for you 27 times if I want,” he explained, according to the graphic.
The 53-year-old became increasingly angry and compared the situation to the game at Werder Bremen at the end of October: “The offside line doesn’t work in Bremen, but it works here.” What Baumgart meant by that: From his point of view, a Werder player was offside for the winning goal. “We need 45 minutes before we draw a line and here we manage to draw it to 0.5 millimeters,” Baumgart continued.
When asked whether the decision against Bayern was based on a reliable basis, the Rostock native said clearly: “Not for me. We’re talking about millimeter ranges. We’re not talking about the foot in front of it, the heel in front of it, the shoulder in front of it – but about five millimeters.”