Gräfe criticism of Zwayer: “Unfortunately, decisions are decisive for the game”

The long-time top referee Manuel Gräfe has sharply criticized his ex-colleague Felix Zwayer for leading the top Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich (2: 3).

“I can absolutely understand the anger of Dortmund,” said Graefe on Saturday evening as an expert in the ZDF-Sportstudio: “The decisions were made at the expense of BVB and therefore unfortunately decisive for the game.”

In Zwayer’s line, “the balance wasn’t right,” said Gräfe: “It’s part of such a top game that a top referee has a feel for it and processes it properly.”

Zwayer (Berlin) had not decided on a penalty for Dortmund in a bump against Marco Reus in the penalty area without looking at the scene again. “That is more of a foul,” said Graefe. Zwayer later gave Bayern a penalty after video evidence after Mats Hummels cleared the ball with his arm. Robert Lewandowski (77th) turned the Munich winner.

Gräfe saw “arguments for both sides” in this scene, but he criticized: “You can’t always work out the arguments against a penalty and then you take the arguments for a penalty.”

Part of the classification is that Gräfe helped uncover the Hoyzer scandal in 2005. According to the files, Zwayer, Hoyzer’s assistant, also accepted money at the time, and manipulation has not been proven. “Anyone who has accepted money once and has kept Hoyzer’s manipulation secret for six months shouldn’t whistle for professional football,” Gräfe told Zeit Magazin last summer.