Mainz coach Bo Svensson after Zoff with McKenna and Baumgart: “Limit crossed”

On the sidelines of the 1: 1 division of points between Mainz 05 and 1. FC Köln, a battle of words between the coaches’ benches broke out on the sidelines. Mainz coach Bo Svensson said after the game that he had been insulted by Cologne’s assistant coach Kevin McKenna.

“I don’t want to get on with anyone who insults me personally. There has been a limit,” said Svensson at the microphone DAZN after the game. A clash between Mark Uth and Alexander Hack in the Mainz penalty area led to the dispute. Svensson refused McKenna the handshake during a meeting with referee Deniz Aytekin. Both saw the yellow card.

Previously, emotions had already boiled up in one scene when Mainz defender Stefan Bell fouled Anthony Modeste. “He insulted me personally at half-time. The whole of the Cologne bank demanded red, and I spoke to him about that. That was the reason why it escalated so much,” explained Svensson.

Modeste had to be replaced after the campaign. Steffen Baumgart didn’t suspect a serious injury, but assumed a severe bruise: “That hurts for a few days, but he has to go through it.”

At the press conference after the game, the Cologne coach also revised the request for a dismissal: “At first, when I saw the foul on Tony, I thought it was red. But now I say the yellow card was the right decision. Stefan Bell hits Tony unhappy.”

Cologne coach Baumgart plays down Svensson-Zoff

In an interview with DAZN, he also played down the battle of words between Svensson and McKenna. “We had a nice chat. The emotions are part of it. They both got yellow, that’s nothing dramatic.”

The draw between the two carnival clubs did not trigger any euphoria on either side. While Svensson was tough on his team (“I don’t know my team like that, I didn’t recognize them”), Baumgart also expressed frustration over the fifth consecutive league game without a win: “It’s annoying because the boys actually did well At the moment we are not able to bring such games over the finish line for ourselves. “