“shouldn’t have happened”

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Anything else would have been surprising. The day after the penalty kick scandal in the classic between Basel and FCZ, referee Alessandro Dudic (34) is sober. “The decision was not correct,” he says to “blue”. In the 88th minute, Dudic falls for a sip from FCZ midfielder Bledian Krasniqi – and gets no instruction from Volketswil from video referee Stephan Klossner to take another look at the scene. Because despite slow motion and different camera perspectives, Klossner supported Dudic’s wrong decision.

The VAR would actually be there to correct major errors of judgment such as Dudic’s. The fact that the decision, despite technical aids, is 180 degrees wrong, makes it completely incomprehensible at first – and makes many people doubt the significance of the VAR.

“shouldn’t have happened”

Referee boss Daniel Wermelinger explains Blick’s request: “Alessandro Dudic regrets the mistake, it should not have happened at this level. The referee team is also aware of this. Van Volketswil confirmed that there had been contact in the penalty area. So he was strengthened in the decision he made on the pitch and an on-pitch assessment was not recommended.”

Stephan Klossner served the VAR in Volketswil. About the fatal faux pas of the former referee (until the end of 2019), Wermelinger says: “The human factor will always play a role in a game of people for people. Precisely because a car is equipped with increasingly modern technology, there will always be accidents happen when cars are driven by people. It’s the same with referees.”

Although a wrong penalty kick was taken on two consecutive match days (previously at FCZ-Sion) despite the VAR in the background, Wermelinger does not see a fundamental problem: “There were certainly phases in which the performance was constantly at a very high level. That was not the case in every game in the past two weekends. So we assume it’s more a coincidence than a fundamental problem.”

Does the support come from abroad?

FCB goalkeeper Marwin Hitz sees it differently. After the 2-0 home defeat against FCZ, he started a monologue stating that Switzerland had a “problem” with the referees – and called for outside help. “The fact that Swiss teams often do poorly internationally also has to do with the fact that the whistle is different in this country,” said Hitz, who returned to Switzerland last summer after 14 years in the Bundesliga.

Harsh words, which Wermelinger comments as follows: “We are just as annoyed by mistakes as we are happy with the right decisions in difficult situations. If a player complains about a ‘missing line’ in an interview after a turbulent match, that is his right. We are aware that there is room for improvement in certain areas. It is our goal that the games run as error-free as possible. However, it is in human nature that this does not always happen 100 percent in reality.”

Hitz goes even further and enlists former German top referee Manuel Graefe to help. “He also made bad decisions, but he always had personality, charisma and a clear line from the first to the last minute.” And that is what football and the spectators need, according to Hitz. Wermelinger says about the FCB keeper’s suggestion: “In the past, we have called in external support on various topics. Due to the financial development in the association and competition, we are currently trying to use the available resources as efficiently as possible. »

Referee interviews soon mandatory?

The fact that Alessandro Dudic himself is in the media after his mistake, and not only Wermelinger is speaking, proves that developments in the referee guild are possible. Until now, the referees’ requests to speak after matches have been taboo. In Germany it is now customary for referees to speak out publicly – with a positive effect: mutual understanding has grown. Blick football expert Babbel also recommends this for Switzerland: “It takes steam out of the kettle and promotes the bond between referees and fans and players.”

It is quite possible that referee interviews will soon be standard practice in Switzerland. Wermelinger about Blick: “We are constantly analyzing and rethinking our processes. The consideration that referees take a position on certain situations in front of a camera is one of them. A start has been made.”

Source : Blick