“Would be less ideal”: HSV hope for DFB leniency over Otele | OneFootball

HSV will be watching events in Frankfurt am Main, around 490 kilometers away, with great anticipation on Friday. There, the northern club will be fighting for a reduction in Philip Otele’s suspension.

After the dismissal in the northern derby against Werder Bremen and the subsequent two-match ban, Hamburg initially failed with their first appeal. The case will now go before the DFB Sports Court. As press spokesman Philipp Langer announced on Thursday, sporting director Claus Costa and the club’s chief legal counsel Dr. Philipp Winter will be present at the oral hearing.

Head coach Merlin Polzin does see a chance for a rethink, mainly because of the special circumstances surrounding the red card. Referee Florian Exner had initially not penalized the incident and only decided to send the player off after VAR intervention. Afterwards, the referee himself did not appear entirely convinced by his decision.

“The exchange was very factual,” Polzin explained. He said Exner had “explained to me in a private conversation what led him to show this card.” According to the HSV coach, the referee admitted “that it was a very harsh decision that could also have gone the other way.”

Photo: IMAGO

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This is exactly where the Rothosen’s argument comes in. “Given the quality of the referees, I trust that we will find a fitting solution,” Polzin hopes. “It would be less fitting to suspend a player for two matches even though the referee publicly addressed his red card afterwards.”

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Otele will definitely miss this weekend’s match against TSG Hoffenheim (Saturday, 6:30 p.m.). However, if the Sports Court rules in HSV’s favor, the Nigerian left winger could already be available again for the following away match at Eintracht Frankfurt (02.05.).

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.