Referee Sascha Stegemann admits he feels like ‘s***’ after denying Borussia Dortmund a penalty
Bundesliga referee Sascha Stegemann admits he feels ‘s***’ after denying Borussia Dortmund a clear penalty in their potentially title-defining draw against Bochum – and says he had a ‘short night’s sleep’ after his costly mistakes
- Borussia Dortmund was furious on Friday about a number of missed decisions
- Manager Edin Terzic was disappointed by the controversial phone calls during and after the game
- Sascha Stegemann said in an interview the day after he felt ‘s***’
The referee who controversially denied Borussia Dortmund a penalty and appeared to miss a push on Emre Can ahead of Bochum’s opening goal on Friday night described the feeling as ‘s***’ in the aftermath.
Sascha Stegemann, 38, made a series of highly controversial decisions in Borussia Dortmund’s 1-1 draw, a result that could see Bayern Munich regain top spot in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
Firstly, Can appeared to be pushed ahead of the game’s opening goal, Karim Adeyemi being brought down midway through the second half as Bochum captain Anthony Losilla himself admitted it could have been a penalty.
Edin Terzic was eventually shown a yellow card for dissent when he finally appeared to be completely out of whack after a late decision went against him.
Speaking to WDR 2 the day after the game, Stegemann admitted that he was struggling to sleep in the aftermath, and accepted that he was at fault, particularly in dismissing Adeyemi’s punitive claims.
Borussia Dortmund were outraged by a number of decisions that went against them in a draw
Referee Sascha Stegemann yellow carded Edin Terzic for dissent after being furious with decisions
Terzic acknowledged afterwards that he had not been calm in the situation, but complained about the decisions
“I’m extremely annoyed, I feel bad. It was a very, very short night [of sleep]”I don’t like it,” he said. “You get up with a bad feeling because you’re angry that you didn’t make the right decision in a scene.
“It looks like a penalty in the situation with Adeyemi for BVB,” he admitted. “I didn’t see it that way on the field.
“As a referee, I have the right to fix the scene on the field without using the video assistant unnecessarily.”
The lack of VAR intervention in particular seemed to irritate Borussia Dortmund’s players, staff and hierarchy.
Terzic, speaking afterwards, further wondered why the tools available to the referee were not used.
“They weren’t just unfortunate decisions, they were absolutely wrong,” he said, directing his anger at both Stegemann and VAR Robert Hartmann, neither of whom flagged the incidents.
“What irritates me the most is that [the officials] have not done all they could to avoid wrong decisions. I think that’s unfair,” Terzic continued.
My team has long fought for the chance to hold the Bundesliga shield. It could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
The points lost could cost Borussia Dortmund extremely dearly, who are looking for their first title since 2011/12
Borussia Dortmund chief Sebastian Kehl went further, describing the decisions as ‘negligent’ and ‘cowardly’.
“It’s a joke that, with the resources at the referee’s disposal, with five games left, when the title is on the line, he doesn’t even look at it.” [the two penalty claims]’ the 43-year-old raged.
‘He must see them! Is he 100% sure he got it right? Could there be a discussion?’ he asked rhetorically.
“It’s negligent, it’s cowardly, it’s wrong and it’s shameful. The referee decided the game tonight and cost us two points.’
Bayern Munich have a chance to top the league with just five games left when they host Hertha BSC on Sunday.