Manuel Gräfe criticized referee Stieler in the strongest possible terms
Referee Tobias Stieler sees that he was wrong
Which: REUTERS
Referee Tobias Stieler made two wrong decisions on penalties in the game between Leverkusen and FC Bayern. He is corrected and admits his mistakes. Everyone is happy. Only one not.
DThis protest could not have aged worse. The Leverkusen fans, of all people, had shown a large banner with the inscription “Abolish video evidence” during the game against FC Bayern. In the end, they were the big beneficiaries of the technical aids. The rule guards in the Cologne cellar, in the responsible position Sören Stork, had reported twice. Referee Tobias Stieler corrected his decision twice in favor of Leverkusen.
First, Benjamin Pavard hit his opponent Amine Adli in the penalty area on the heel (55′) and even knocked off the Leverkusen player’s shoe. However, Stieler decided on an indirect free kick for Bayern because of swallow and yellow card for Adli. Only after looking at the pictures did he give a penalty and also took back the yellow card. Then Dayot Upamecano Adli cleared the penalty area again. Same game again: first a free kick for Bayern and yellow for Adli, according to the pictures then a penalty for Leverkusen and a canceled yellow card.
Exequiel Palacios converted each and gave Leverkusen a deserved 2-1 win. The referee was relieved after the game. “Today was a prime example of the perfect interaction with the video referee. That was my lifesaver today and the lifesaver for the game,” he said: “Otherwise two wrong decisions would have been made. That’s why I take it with humor today. “The soul of the referee in Stieler would cry, “but the football world is happy.”
Graefe: “Male development of the last decade”
The entire football world? No, because there was heavy criticism from ex-referee Manuel Gräfe. With the hashtag for the game (#B04FCB), the 49-year-old Gräfe denounced that there was a “misdevelopment of the last decade” in terms of personnel. This is made clear by the fact that “such” referees are sponsored by the DFB “up to the highest group of UEFA”, “but the performance never justified it,” Graefe tweeted. It was a double attack: against Stieler, whom he indirectly denied the class for his decisions on the field, and against the decision-makers at the DFB, who promote the referee.
It’s not the first time that a game led by Stieler has met with a lack of understanding at Gräfe. After the controversial Bochum hand penalty in the DFB Cup game against Dortmund in early February, Graefe had already commented. “It is worrying that people from all over the world, no matter how far away, have the same assessment of German refereeing: the quality has been declining for years. You wonder who puts such referees in such positions. Only at the DFB do they put it nicely.” The 41-year-old Stieler has been a FIFA referee since 2014 and thus represents the DFB at international matches.
The protagonists, even those who lost out, did not share Gräfe’s criticism this time. Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann, for example, confirmed Stieler’s decisions. “I had good vision both times and so it was relatively easy for me to see that both were penalties,” he said. “I’m generally a friend of VAR. Today there were two penalties, so everything was in the sense of justice. So it was bitter, but fair.”
The Bayern coach even suffered with Stieler. “It also took the pressure off the referee,” he said: “Imagine if he had let the two yellow cards stand, we might have won 1-0 and wouldn’t have gotten two clear penalties against us.” Then they complained certainly not only the Leverkusen, but also the Dortmund. In the event of a Bayern victory, they would have gone into second place at the summit on April 1, but now they are leading the table.
Meanwhile, Leverkusen jumps to eighth place in the table – with a conciliatory Adli, who promised Stieler his jersey. “Today I’m glad that VAR intervened,” said the Frenchman. During the decision-making process, he was “naturally tense and a little nervous”: “But now we’re just happy.” After the first decision, Adli pointed to his worn-out shoe and then threw it so vehemently on the lawn that he was lucky had not prematurely see yellow-red.