Bundesliga official Tobias Reichel takes heat after botched call in weekend fixture | OneFootball

The German FA was quick to concede a refereeing error in this weekend’s Bundesliga fixture between TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and FC Augsburg. Match official Tobias Reichel’s controversial decision to award Hoffenheim a handball penalty found swift correction. Alex Feuerherdt, Head of Communications and Media Relations at the German refereeing association, admitted the mistake when speaking to Sky Germany.

“The game should have continued and a VAR intervention would have been appropriate,” Feuerherdt told Sky. “The referee’s decision to award a penalty is not in line with our rules. The ball came from a teammate at close range and was not to be expected by [Augsburg’s Jeffrey] Gouweleeuw. It changed direction after being blocked.“

The falsely awarded penalty wasn’t Reichel’s only error of the match. The 39-year-old very nearly awarded another penalty in the 85th minute, 14 minutes after the incorrect decision. FCA keeper Finn Dahmen rushed out to punch a ball away from onrushing TSG striker Haris Tabakovic. Reichel initially pointed to the spot despite the fact that Dahmen cleared the ball.

Thankfully, Reichel’s linesman overruled him in this instance. The experienced Bundesliga ref nevertheless isn’t out of the woods yet. He received failing marks and harsh condemnation in a column by Kicker journalist Frank Lußem released on Monday. Reichel’s transfermarkt scorecard is also among the worst of active German match officials.

Lußem points out that Reichel also botched a call in the DFB quarter-final between RB Leipzig and VfL Wolfsburg on February 26th when he incorrectly assessed an alleged handball by Wolfsburg’s Kilian Fischer. In both cases, the VAR team also let him down. Lußem still pointed out that the well-compensated Reichel might need to have his whistle taken away for a while.

“With an annual salary of more than €100,000 in total, he should be treated as any other professional,” Lußem writes. “Highly trained professionals must be subject to critiques. Reichel, as the main person responsible, would certainly benefit from a break to reflect.“

GGFN | Peter Weis