class=”sc-97fd9fa8-0 jNFKxv”>
Not a week without VAR problems: When Basel captain Fabian Frei touched the ball with his upper arm against Servette in stoppage time, the referee Sandro Schärer gave a penalty after the video study. Convert the Geneva, 2: 2. “Right decision,” said referee boss Daniel Wermelinger.
“Wrong whistle,” says Urs Meier. And expresses what he now wants to stand for as a Blick expert: “Clear statements and subject division.” He will analyze controversial scenes in the future.
The greatest legend
Next to Massimo Busacca, who now leads the referees at FIFA, Urs Meier is by far the best Swiss referee of modern times. De Aargauer refereed his first match at the age of 18, refereed from 1991 in the then National League A and became a FIFA referee in 1994.
At the 1998 World Cup, he led the explosive preliminary round match between the US and Iran and the round of 16 between Denmark and Nigeria. In 2002 it was even the semi-final between South Korea and Germany, that year he also refereed the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Leverkusen (2-1).
It was the crowning achievement after refereeing five consecutive semi-finals in the highest division. In 2004 he retired due to old age after 883 games.
From the end of 2007 to June 2011 he was head of the Swiss referees – and from 2005 he was also an expert at ZDF. In 2006, together with Johannes B. Kerner and Jürgen Klopp, with whom he performed, he received the German television award for the best sports program. He stayed with ZDF until 2018. Today he dissects sensitive scenes in the Champions League at Blue Sport and now he takes a closer look at the Super League.
16,000 death threats
Meier knows everything about the pressure situation that a referee has to deal with. It was Euro 2004 in Portugal when he became the hated object of England fans. In the 89th minute of the European Championship quarter-finals, Meier canceled England’s supposed winning goal against Portugal – the Three Lions were subsequently eliminated on penalties.
Meier hadn’t seen the scene properly. “But I felt that the picture of the whole situation was not consistent. The keeper’s arm was not where it should have been. So my gut immediately said: Wrong! That’s why I whistled.”
The TV images prove that Meier is right. Nevertheless, the English coach Sven-Göran Eriksson comes to him: «He said: «I saw the scene on TV. It was a wrong decision. You now have 45 minutes to make it right.”
Well, Meier believes that he has done everything right and that he has now reached the European Championship final. It turns out differently. When he gets up the next morning, he has 16,000 new emails in his inbox. “Actually 16,000 death threats,” he says. Then he looks at the homepage of «The Sun». “It said ‘Swiss banker!’ in big letters, which I didn’t really understand. So I asked my English referee colleague. He said there were three different meanings. First: a reputable banker. Second: someone who takes money. And third: «Swiss wanker», in German Schweizer W***ser.»
police protection
The 10 million reader newspaper “The Sun” in particular orchestrates the hate tirades, and renowned newspapers such as “The Independent” also describe him as “public enemy number 1”. “Tricked by a lair of Urs” is the headline in the Daily Star.
“The sun” burns cuckoo clocks “to warm Meier”, forgetting that they come from Germany, from the Black Forest. She advocates throwing away or boycotting Swiss products such as fondue sets, Emmental cheese, Swatch watches, alphorns, chocolate or pocket knives.
Seven English reporters travel to Würenlos AG to besiege his company and family. His son is ambushed on his way to school, “he was offered tickets to talk about me,” says Meier. The climax: The newspaper quotes his ex-wife as saying, “Urs cheated on me and, it seems, England too.”
Meier’s ex-wife didn’t even speak to the newspaper. Nevertheless, the referee is sent home by UEFA. The police in Switzerland tell him to stay in Portugal. “My safety in Switzerland cannot be guaranteed.”
Meier is apprehended by the police at Zurich airport, drives away from the underground car park and goes into hiding in the mountains for about seven days. He doesn’t even tell his family where he is.
A few weeks later, he returns to his normal life. “But I haven’t been to England for eight years. And when I was abroad and someone behind me spoke English, I cringed. »
The positive downside
But he also says: “You have to be honest: that scene made me famous. Can give lectures today and work as an expert, as now for the gaze. I suffered a lot – but the scene also brought me a lot.”
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
