The withdrawn penalty in the game between SC Freiburg and VfB Stuttgart (2:0) caused a stir after the game. VfB sports director Sven Mislintat was furious and spoke of an “insane” decision. Freiburg coach Christian Streich saw things differently.
The Breisgauer won 2-0 after an own goal by Hiroki Ito (37th) and a goal by Kevin Schade (72nd). However, the opening goal was preceded by the controversial scene: After a duel between Lukas Kübler and Alexis Tibidi, referee Tobias Stieler decided on a penalty, but took it back after consulting the VAR and consulting the video images.
For Mislintat an absurdity. “For all those who didn’t see the contact – everyone in the stadium heard it. Refereeing of this kind destroys the games. The game changes with a situation like this. It’s a clear contact, he falls, that thing is whistled, it is not a clear wrong decision. In my opinion, the intervention is completely insane, “he persuaded himself sky angry after the game.
His coach Pellegrino Matarazzo saw it the same way: “I can’t understand that 100 percent. We were disadvantaged last week and didn’t get a penalty, which for me was a very clear foul.”
Freiburg’s Nicolas Höfler admitted that Freiburg couldn’t have complained: “It’s extremely important for us that he took it back. Otherwise it would have been much more difficult…” Mislintat reacted to this statement a little later meaningfully: “If Even the people of Freiburg say so…”
Mislintat: Stuttgart disadvantaged as a small club
The 49-year-old saw his club, who have been waiting for their own goal for 477 minutes, at a disadvantage due to the lack of standing. “It would never happen that the penalty was taken back against teams that have a different reputation than VfB Stuttgart,” he emphasized.
Freiburg coach Christian Streich, whose team is fifth in the table after the win, could not see a penalty: “It’s a penalty? The player just stands there, doesn’t do anything, has zero activity. Luckily, penalties like this are taken back. Like this a situation can never be a penalty – not for us and not for anyone else.”
At the press conference after the game, however, Streich admitted that he “very well understands” the frustration of the guests. For his part, Matarazzo said he “wouldn’t have said anything” if Stieler hadn’t called the whistle. With “30, 35 percent penalties”, however, there was no clear wrong decision, which is why the VAR should not have intervened.
