Bittencourt blasts referee after three red cards for Werder | OneFootball

After a dramatic finish, Werder Bremen held on to beat Mainz 1-0 in the Bundesliga on Friday night.

Leading 1-0 thanks to Leonardo Bittencourt's first-half strike, Werder were reduced to nine men in stoppage time when centre-backs Niklas Stark and Marco Friedl were sent off after picking up second yellow cards.

Werder Bremen coach Ole Werner was then shown a straight red card for complaining.

Speaking in a post-match interview, Leonardo Bittencourt was less than impressed with referee Martin Petersen.

"He showed arrogance, kudos to him," Bittencourt told DAZN, adding that the referee gave red cards "for no reason, for nothing".

"What happened on the pitch today was outrageous," fumed the Werder midfielder, who went off with an injury in the first half.

Werder coach Ole Werner apolozised for his red card after the game, but Bittencourt came to his defence.

"I know our coach, he's actually a quiet guy. I don't think he could have said anything to justify a red card," said Bittencourt.

“Martin Petersen's whole game was like that. He felt like giving red cards to Werder Bremen today."