NAfter more than five hours of negotiation marathon, Wolfsburg left the headquarters of the German Football Association as a loser. The Bundesliga club’s 3-1 victory in the DFB Cup in Preußen Münster was subsequently rejected due to a substitution error. After an oral hearing in Frankfurt/Main, the German Football Association Sports Court approved the regional league’s objections to the evaluation of the first round of matches on Monday. According to the sports court, the score of this game is 2-0 Prusenminster.
“It’s painful and absolutely regrettable,” said Stephan Oberholz, deputy chairman of the German Football Association Sports Court. “We don’t think we can make another decision within a reasonable range.” The court was convinced that VfL was “decisive and reckless” in replacing the sixth player. “Every club is responsible for substitutions. An association should understand these regulations,” Oberholz emphasized.
Is VfL attractive?
Wolfsburg was disappointed by the judge’s ruling. “The case is complicated. The replay was originally fair,” said VfL Managing Director Law Tim Schumacher. “We are checking whether we will appeal.”
At first glance, the DFB Sports Court’s disrespectful hearing on VfL Wolfsburg’s change seemed to be a clear violation of the cup rules and ended in a 3-1 victory over Prussia Munster. The investigation of the case not only revealed the undisputed error of VfL and its new head coach Mark Van Bommel. The actions and remarks of Tobias Fridge, the fourth official who oversees the player changes, aroused suspicion and left problems.
Wolfsburg Head Coach Mark Van Bommel A total of six players were replaced in the match held in Münster on August 8. The Dutch made three substitutions in regular time and added another three professional players in overtime. According to DFB regulations, this is not allowed. Therefore, Admir Mehmedi should no longer be replaced by Maximilian Philip.
Only five changes allowed
Champions League participants need to abide by relevant regulations DFB Obviously don’t know. The corresponding paragraph 31 states: “During the game, five players can be exchanged. Additional substitutions beyond this range are not allowed in overtime.” Another rule that applies to the European Championships and Olympic Football Championships, in Six changes are allowed in overtime.
“We made mistakes and didn’t do everything right,” said Marcel Schaefer, the sports director of Wolfsburg. Before the day of the first round, he neither received an e-mail from the German Football Association, the e-mail also contained changes to the rules, and did not notify himself in other ways. When asked if he knew and read the news, he replied: “Now I know!” A question was also asked, why the other staff of the club (five of them received emails from the German Football Association) did not know Transfer rules.
Lawyer accused the fourth official of “fairy tale moment”
The communication between Wolfsburg and Frich played a central role in this process, as they sought to contact him many times during the game because they themselves did not understand the rules of change. First, VfL goalkeeper coach Pascal Formann asked him twice, then van Bommel asked for clarification. “I asked him if we could still change three players. He said yes,” the coach said. Formann also said: “I am 1000% sure that the conversation was conducted in this way.” On the other hand, Fritsch claims to have said: “You still have three replacement positions and two available player replacements.”
Fridge’s violation of allowing the sixth Wolfsburg player to exchange or not immediately treating him as “in the hustle and bustle” was regarded as an infringement of control, but was not the decisive factor in reaching the verdict.
When VfL lawyer Christoph Schickhardt talked about Fritsch’s “fairy-tale moments” and “crazy performances”, Anton Nachreiner Fritsch, chairman of the DFB Control Board, defended: “Why are you asking how many players can be replaced x times? .”
For Judge Oberholtz, the assistant referee’s communication and behavior have nothing to do with the decision. “Even if wrong information is provided, it will not exempt VfL from its primary responsibility,” he said
Schickhardt tried to persuade the court not only to doubt Fritsch’s credibility and other legal subtleties, to reject Prussia’s objections or order a replay of the game. “Fans want to decide on the court,” the lawyer said. On the other hand, for the prosecutor Nachreiner, a “game reassessment” must be carried out.
The decision of the German Football Association Sports Court paved the way Prussian Munster It’s not just the second cup schedule to 26./27. October. At the same time, the judge’s decision gave the Fourth Division Club a fixed premium of approximately 257,000 euros.
Wolfsburg again
It is not the first time that VfL Wolfsburg has decided to leave the “Green Table” DFB-Pokal Had to retire. In 2004, Lower Saxony used their rookie Marian Christov, although he was suspended after receiving a red card from his former club 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
Wolfsburg hopes to learn from Van Bommel’s mistakes during his debut. “This is very annoying, but unfortunately, it cannot be reversed,” VfL sports director Jörg Schmadtke said after the breakdown, announcing that they will ensure that “nothing similar will happen in the future.”
