Formation of packs, arguments, yellow cards: The referee has his hands full when FC Augsburg drew 1-1 against VfL Wolfsburg.
Niko Kovac talked away all the excitement with a few dry sayings. “We used to play golf together, so I thought we’d exchange ideas,” he said of his war of words with Stefan Reuter, who, the VfL Wolfsburg coach joked about the FC Augsburg manager, “still really mobile”.
The dispute between Reuter and Kovac, who had previously entered Augsburg’s coaching zone, was not the only upset that was heatedly discussed after the sometimes heated 1-1 (0-1). Referee Daniel Siebert was just able to prevent an escalation. “If we tried harder, there would have been five dismissals,” said the Berliner.
Enraged, Reuter received a yellow card against Maximilian Bauer in the 38th minute. A pack formation with fisticuffs followed, from which Wolfsburg’s Paulo Otavio emerged with a scratch on his neck – allegedly inflicted by Augsburg captain Jeffrey Gouweleeuw. An assault? No, said Siebert, Wolfsburg’s Patrick Wimmer actually tore Gouweleeuw’s arm – hence the scratches.
The formation of the pack resulted in five more yellow cards, including one each for Reuter and Kovac. “You have to be honest that something like this can happen in Augsburg against Wolfsburg, we were prepared for that,” said Siebert and criticized “that there is no one out there to help de-escalate” – rather, an attempt was made to “continue to pour oil in to enjoy fire”.
FC Augsburg: Jeffrey Gouweleeuw criticizes the referee
Unsurprisingly, Siebert was the trigger for the excitement for Augsburg and Wolfsburg. “In my opinion, the referee didn’t have the game in his hands,” criticized Gouweleeuw, who, like Bauer, will be suspended next weekend. Siebert, he claimed, quickly warned and at the same time announced further sanctions – “I don’t like this way”.
Gouweleeuw was far happier with Tomas Koubek. The Czech had been bought as number one, but was last in goal in June 2020. Representing Rafal Gikiewicz (hamstring injury), the 30-year-old cut a fine figure – together with colleague Koen Casteels, he made sure that only Yannick Gerhardt (27th) and Robert Gumny (55th) scored.
Afterwards, Reuter was a bit “sad” that Augsburg hadn’t had their fourth win in a row for the second time after 2014. Kovac, on the other hand, said: “The bottom line is that the result is okay.” Contradiction – did not come.
