Coach Reis criticizes referees
The “cheek” that makes FC Schalke 04 rage
02/11/2023, 12:05 p.m
Schalke coach Thomas Reis is in a bad mood. Not because the Royal Blues are still without a win in 2023 and they no longer score. No: The team of referees decides the 0-0 draw against VfL Wolfsburg in the decisive scenes against Schalke. “A cheek,” says Reis.
FC Schalke 04 is at odds with the team of referees after the 0-0 draw against VfL Wolfsburg. After the third goalless draw in a row, the Royal Blues remain at the bottom of the Bundesliga table. While coach Thomas Reis praised his team, he directed loud accusations at the officials around referee Benjamin Brand. Not only did they deny two goals due to a previous offside position, they also overlooked a handball by a Wolfsburg player in their own penalty area and denied Schalke a big chance with a hasty whistle late on.
The year 2023 really could have started better for the bottom of the table in the Bundesliga. After the league restarted after the World Cup, Schalke had hoped for important victories in the fight against relegation in just three seasons with a completely renewed squad. But the balance sheet reads more than sober after five games. Zero wins, three draws and two defeats with 1:9 goals are for the traditional club to beech. Not enough to have a long-term perspective in the upper house.
Of course, the balance sheet can also be read differently. FC Schalke 04 haven’t lost in three games and haven’t conceded a goal since Alexander Schwolow changed goalkeeper to Ralf Fährmann. But in the games against Cologne, Gladbach and now Wolfsburg, they also didn’t score themselves – although the ball landed twice in the net of the guests from the Mittelland Canal in the game against Wolfsburg. But both Alex Kral and Michael Frey’s goals were ruled out for offside.
Yellow card instead of a huge chance
Nevertheless, Schalke coach Reis saw another step in the right direction before the difficult upward task at Union Berlin: “Something has grown together. The team is alive, I can’t blame them,” said Reis at DAZN and then took the all-round blow against them game management off. Not because of the denied goals, but rather because of some decisions that went against Schalke.
“The last scene was the worst,” Reis said at the post-match press conference. “I don’t have a problem with making mistakes. As a coach, I also make mistakes, but I have to own up to it. Allows you to go through an offside position, even though you can see from the outside that it’s offside, and at the crucial moment you blow the whistle – I’m sorry, but that’s not possible. To get a yellow card for that is a cheek.”
In the scene, Brand had denied Schalke a big chance. Striker Simon Terodde was alone on his way to the Wolfsburg goal after a liberation followed by a foul by a Wolfsburg. The referee ignored Schalke’s advantage and awarded a free kick in their own half. The angry Schalke coach then saw the yellow card.
It remains tight for Schalke 04
It wasn’t the only situation where Schalke felt disadvantaged. Wolfsburg defender Sebastian Bornauw had already gained an advantage in a duel with Frey in the 19th minute. He then touched the ball with his hand in the penalty area, but the VAR didn’t intervene. “So the arm goes to the ball,” said Reis, comparing the scene with the highly controversial penalty kick for VfL Bochum in the cup game against Borussia Dortmund: “Of course you can’t compare games with each other, but Dortmund gets a penalty kick in the DFB Cup [gegen sich], where I say this is an absolute joke, and you don’t get anything here. He goes actively to the ball.”
But that’s how it stayed with the next 0:0 and the quarrel with the referee. With 12 points, Schalke is currently four points behind VfB Stuttgart, who are in the relegation zone before the rest of the weekend games. Ironically, the turnaround should now succeed against Union Berlin. Three games without a win could suddenly become four games without defeat and six points from four games. Only one sensation has to succeed against the Berliners, who are considered invincible at home. Perhaps also thanks to more favorable decisions by the referees.