Thursday, January 13, 2022
“Completely irresponsible”
Babak Rafati angry about Zwayer break
Referee Felix Zwayer’s break after the sometimes devastating criticism after his appearance in the top game Borussia Dortmund against Bayern Munich caused unrest. Former referee Babak Rafati is calling for a rethink at the DFB and BVB coach Marco Rose is hoping for a return.
Former Bundesliga referee Babak Rafati took the referee’s side in the discussion about Felix Zwayer and asked the DFB to rethink. It is a disastrous problem in professional football for both players and referees that, in the error culture, one assumes that he will pause and then come back to himself, Rafati told Sky TV. “It’s the worst thing there is. You have to give the player or the referee the chance to go back out there and show they can do it,” said the 51-year-old.
In Rafati’s opinion, bans after mistakes are counterproductive. These would tear you down completely, self-doubt would arise, it would affect the psyche. “I think it’s completely irresponsible to treat people, players, referees like that. You have to name mistakes clearly, you have to talk about them,” demanded the ex-referee.
Zwayer was heavily criticized by Dortmund after the top game between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern Munich (2:3). Young BVB star Jude Bellingham verbally attacked the 40-year-old and even indirectly accused Zwayer of bribery, alluding to the 17-year-old referee scandal involving Robert Hoyzer.
According to the court documents, Zwayer, who helped uncover the scandal, accepted money like Hoyzer at the time. Bellingham was fined 40,000 euros by the DFB for his statement. Even before Zwayer’s time-out became known, referee boss Lutz-Michael Fröhlich had declared that the referee would no longer referee games involving Dortmund.
Rose hopes for Zwayer’s return
You can’t accuse him of anything, said Rafati. The DFB must now take a clear position. “You have to protect your husband or you have to uncover things that are not yet public.” According to DFB chief referee Lutz-Michael Fröhlich, the Berliner Zwayer will no longer referee BVB games; he took a break of his own accord.
Meanwhile, BVB coach Marco Rose hopes for a return of the controversial referee. “I just wish Mr. Zwayer a good and quiet time now,” said Rose, adding: “Hopefully with the result that he then enjoys refereeing football games again.”
At the press conference before the game against SC Freiburg, the BVB coach also commented on the heavy criticism from Dortmund after the defeat against Bayern Munich. The eternal pursuer of the record champions “didn’t feel treated properly” in the game, said Rose: “We had the impression that the refereeing didn’t fit. We made that known, and then it basically goes on.” Criticism is part of football, however, Rose explained. “When you work in the area in which we are active, it is also clear that you always have to hear things about yourself, always have to read things about yourself. You have to be able to deal with that, that’s clear,” said the BVB Trainer.