Bundesliga match official Daniel Schlager defends three controversial refereeing decisions in heated duel between Köln and Hamburg | OneFootball

The Bundesliga’s two promoted sides (1. FC Köln and Hamburger SV) contested a matchday nine league fixture at the RheinEnergieStadion last night. While a 4-1 scoreline conveys a convincing league win for the Kölner hosts, the match was not without its fair share of controversy. Match official Daniel Schlager found himself the target of marked criticism from the losing side. 

Schlager and the refereeing team (both present in the stadium and in Germany’s famed “Kölner VAR Keller”) disallowed what could have been a crucial HSV pullback goal from Arensal loanee Fabio Vieira. Schlager would later send Vieira off on double yellows. Viera incurred the second suspension of his young Bundesliga career.

“[A referee] should have the flow of a match in mind,” Hamburg head coach Merlin Polzin groused at the post-match press conference last night. “It’s not right to take the momentum out of a match and kill the potential future prospects of a match. I don’t think it’s right [for a ref] to exert so much influence on a match.

“We didn’t play a good first half,” Polzin continued. “But if one looks at how we reacted early in the second half, it’s clear that the referee profoundly influenced the final result. That’s not something that serves football or the Bundesliga brand in general.“

Polzin had three specific scenes in mind when criticizing Schlager’s performance. First, Vieira saw a potential 2-1 pullback goal disallowed in the 50th minute. A six-minute-long VAR review commenced. Viera’s goal was eventually chalked off due to both a foul in the lead up from HSV attacker Rayan Philippe and the fact that HSV striker Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer was in a passive offside position that obstructed the vision of Köln keeper Marvin Schwäbe. 

Hamburg did eventually net their pullback goal via Jean-Luc Dompé in the 61st minute. The guests were within striking distance. Two other questionable refereeing decision nevertheless then placed Hamburg at a severe disadvantage. Hamburg sub Immanuel Pherai was sent off on double yellows in the 79th-minute after could on Denis Huseinbasic and Kristoffer Lund.

Viera was sent off on double yellows in the 83rd-minute. The Portuguese midfielder fouled Köln’s Said El Mala in the 74th-minute, then complained excessively about Köln’s time wasting tactics in the 83rd minute. With the two-man-advantage, Köln were able to score two more goals in extra time. Polzin and plenty of his players ultimately found their way into Schlager’s book.

“I didn’t find Viera’s action to warrant such an intervention,” Polzin complained at the post-match presser. “It wasn’t a malicious foul and there were any swear words involved. He had his goal taken back after a long delay. That just got his blood pumping and [Schlager] could have reacted to [Fabio’s] behavior differently.“

Schlager himself has had a chance to comment on all the scenes,

On Vieira’s disallowed goal (50th minute)

“The fact that a player was in the goalkeeper’s field of vision was the first thing we checked. Then there was Philippe’s action. That’s why it took so long. The important thing is that we ended up with a clear picture and checked everything. For us, certainty takes precedence over speed.

“The video assistant confirmed to me that the offside situation was tricky. Then I asked what about the foul. He then said that he had clear images and could see that [Philippe’s] forearm was in the player’s [Eric Martel’s] face [in the lead up to Vieira’s goal].

“First and foremost, the foul was the issue, but I asked to see the offside scene in order to get an overall impression of the situation.”

On Immanuel Pherai’s sending off (79th minute)

“The player [Pherai] goes into the tackle [against Lund] with high intensity, doesn’t play the ball, and slides into his opponent’s legs at high speed.“For me, that’s reckless in this case, and since he [Pherai] had already been cautioned, it’s a yellow card.”

On Vieira’s sending off (83rd minute)

“That one was a long time coming. [Vieira] repeatedly protested in the first half. I tolerated quite a bit and communicated with him. I pointed out to him that he should please refrain from doing so. I interrupted the game in the first half during a goal kick, went up to him and said that I would not tolerate that kind of behavior.

“I spoke to both the captain [Youssef Poulsen] and the HSV coach [Merlin Polzin] at half-time and pointed out the behavior. It didn’t cease. I tried to build bridges, but at some point even I reach my limit. That’s why I decided to send the player off the field.” 

GGFN | Peter Weis