Nfter his potentially game-winning mistake in the Bundesliga game between VfL Bochum and Borussia Dortmund, soccer referee Sascha Stegemann has received serious threats.
He and his family were “very specifically threatened”, said the 38-year-old on Sunday in the Sport1 Doppelpass, “that unfortunately I felt compelled to file a criminal complaint and now there are also temporary protective measures in the room”.
Borussia Dortmund distanced itself from the abusive comments on Sunday. “Answers of any kind, slanders or threats, whether personal or anonymous via social media channels, we can – despite all the disappointment – not even tolerate in the beginning,” said BVB Managing Director Hans-Joachim Watzke on the club’s website announce.
Stegemann now wants to “let things sink in” and “think about whether a break makes sense or whether it is even better to continue immediately”.
“It cannot be that a referee and the family receive death threats and the police take them seriously,” said CEO Alexander Wehrle from VfB Stuttgart: “It’s just a no-go! The proportionality no longer fits.”
Main referee Stegemann did not give a penalty in Borussia’s 1-1 draw at VfL Bochum on Friday evening when Danilo Soares fouled BVB international Karim Adeyemi in the Bochum penalty area. The video assistant Robert Hartmann did not classify the scene as a clear wrong decision and therefore did not give Stegemann a signal to watch the duel again on the screen. Stegemann publicly admitted his mistake several times afterwards.