High time to make the DFB responsible

SC Freiburg has appealed against the rating of the Bundesliga game against FC Bayern (1:4). This protest is not promising, but it is still correct – because the DFB sports court should not shirk responsibility for this strange mistake. A comment from SPOX editor Stefan Petri.

It was a bit of a surprise that SC Freiburg decided on Monday evening to appeal against the 4-1 defeat in the league game against FC Bayern.

Several experts, from referee Felix Zwayer, who was on duty as VAR on Saturday afternoon, to referee boss Lutz Michael Fröhlich and DFB referee instructor Lutz Wagner, were responsible for the change error, which led to exactly 16 seconds overtime had led for Bayern, prescribed by referee Bastian Dingert.

From a purely sporting point of view, the oddity had no real impact on the game anyway: the record champions led 3-1 a few minutes before the end, the numerical majority neither gave the guests a chance to score nor prevented the Freiburg team from doing the same – and the replaced Kingsley Coman didn’t even get the ball. One could speak of a chain of unfortunate circumstances brought about by the carelessness of several protagonists.

So, in the end, are Freiburg just bad losers?

No. Rather, it is good and right that the club made this decision, even if it will not be met with approval everywhere. It is high time that the DFB took responsibility in this matter.

DFB sports court passes the buck to Freiburg

“Otherwise the sports court would have to take action every weekend for every referee error,” said DFB instructor Wagner in an interview SPOX and GOAL establishes the practice of only acting on official objections. This is understandable in itself, not every missed penalty and distributed yellow card then has to be negotiated at length.

Only: the case is not that simple this time. When half of football Germany discusses for two days which paragraph should be applied in this case, there is obviously a need for clarification – not to mention the question of what would have happened if Nico Schlotterbeck hadn’t promptly responded to the 23rd player would have pointed out to the lawn.

“We will note this in the match report, the DFB will decide everything else,” Dingert explained after the game. In view of the justified public interest, the association could have gone ahead and launched an investigation of its own accord, it might even have been possible to close a gap in the regulations.

Instead, he remained silent and stuck rigidly to a procedural rule that forces the sports club to take an “active role” and ultimately “responsibility for processing an obvious violation of the rules”, as he aptly stated in his statement. In plain language: The buck always lies with the club.

FCB predecessor? The most legendary change mistakes

1/19

Eleven outfield players at Bayern! German football is richer by an exchange breakdown. For a few seconds, FCB played 12 players in Freiburg because instead of Coman’s number 11, his old number appeared on the scoreboard. Sabitzer came in, Coman stayed too.

2/19

Freiburg’s Schlotterbeck drew the referee’s attention to this, and after the misunderstanding had been clarified, the ball continued. And what’s next? The game was decided, but rules are rules. But what do these look like?

3/19

Freiburg has now lodged an objection and the control committee is investigating. According to Bayern coach Nagelsmann, however, you don’t have to “question fairness”. We have compiled the most prominent switching errors for you.

4/19

The first substitution error in the Bundesliga came in 1977. Hennes Weisweiler, then coach of 1. FC Köln, brought in a third foreigner in Roger van Gool. Back then, however, only two were allowed.

5/19

Eintracht Frankfurt suffers the same fate 16 years later. Horst Heese had also ordered one foreign player too many onto the field. The 5:2 win against Uerdingen subsequently turned into a 0:2 defeat.

6/19

Giovanni Trapattoni made one of the most legendary substitution mistakes in the service of FC Bayern. In the 5-2 win on April 15, 1995, Trap brought in Dietmar Hamann as the fourth contract amateur.

7/19

According to the statutes, however, only three contract amateurs were allowed, for each additional one a special permit would have been required. Frankfurt protested against this and was right. In the end the game was scored 2-0 for Eintracht.

8/19

“Winnie, count your foreigners,” the KSC stadium announcer once said. Because coach Winfried Schäfer had substituted the fourth foreigner on November 11, 1995. Sergei Kiryakov could not prevent the 1:4 defeat against Bayer.

9/19

When Klaus Augenthaler temporarily took a seat on the FC Bayern bench for Franz Beckenbauer on the last day of the game in 1996, only three substitutions were allowed. However, Augenthaler undertook four.

10/19

Curiously, this did not change the result. Fortuna Düsseldorf waived an appeal after the 2-2 draw.

11/19

Perhaps the most bitter change mistake made by Christoph Daum in 1992 as a coach at VfB Stuttgart. As German champions, VfB played against Leeds United in qualifying for the newly created Champions League.

12/19

VfB won the first leg 3-0 in the Neckar Stadium. In the second leg, however, Leeds were clearly better. With ten minutes remaining, Chapman made it 4-1. Daum brought on Jovica Simanic to bring the result over time. With success.

13/19

VfB made it through to the group stage thanks to the away goal they scored. Are you kidding me? Are you serious when you say that! Because Simanic was the fourth VfB foreigner on the field. UEFA gave the game a 3-0 win for Leeds. VfB lost the deciding game in Barcelona 2-1.

14/19

On September 26, 1998, Otto Rehhagel was also doomed by the foreigners rule. Pascal Ojigwe came on as a substitute after Michael Schjönberg broke his shin. The faux pas of the Lauterners quickly got around on the field.

15/19

Hany Ramzy therefore played an injury and Rehhagel substituted him for Harry Koch. He later remembered the game in the mirror. The opponent VfL Bochum knew about it, but due to the 3:2 victory they didn’t protest anymore.

16/19

In 2004, Wolfsburg coach Eric Gerets set up Marian Hristov, who had just been brought from Lautern, in the first round of the cup at 1. FC Köln II. Problem: Hristov had to serve a red suspension from his time at FCK.

17/19

So the game was already decided with the kick-off. An info fax from the DFB, which provides information about the facts, apparently never arrived in Wolfsburg. Opponents Cologne knew about it, but remained silent until the ball rolled and thus won at the green table.

18/19

And 17 years later, the wolves got it again in the cup! Although VfL won in Münster, new coach van Bommel made six substitutions. This is possible in some other associations in extra time, but not with the DFB.

19/19

Münster lodged a protest, and the sports court awarded the club victory. Wolfsburg’s appeal was unsuccessful. VfL claimed the fourth official confirmed a sixth substitution was allowed. Ultimately, this did not change the question of guilt.

Freiburg has nothing to lose – but a lot to gain

All the better that the people of Breisgau, after careful consideration, are not deterred by this fact. Even if, as sporting director Jochen Saier and trainer Christian Streich will be aware, the chances of success are negligible.

SC Freiburg has nothing to lose. In the best case, however, three points can be won, which at the end of the season could decide on participation in the Champions League and thus income in the eight-figure range. It can only be to the advantage of the league that the processes are carefully examined again.

And what about playful sympathies? The SCF as an unsportsmanlike paragraph rider? This criticism should – and should! – keep within limits, after all, the people of Freiburg are the only protagonist in this matter 100 percent blameless. And: One or the other should even give the sports club credit for the fact that a supposed Bayern bonus is being put to the test again…