DFB condemns third division scandal
Sandhausen president “physically” attacks referees
October 8, 2023, 12:45 p.m
Referees are repeatedly the focus of dissatisfied fans. But this time the situation is even more serious: The DFB complains about an attack by Sandhausen boss Jürgen Machmeier on the referees. We are talking about a physical attack.
The words of referee boss Lutz-Michael Fröhlich left no questions unanswered in terms of clarity. “It’s bad enough that referees are repeatedly insulted, defamed, threatened and attacked by spectators. But when even a club president physically attacks the referee and his assistant, a new dimension has been reached,” said Fröhlich in a statement from the German Football Association (DFB).
He was reacting to events on Friday in the third division game between SV Sandhausen and newly promoted SSV Ulm (1:2), when referee Florian Exner and assistant Jonah Besong were physically attacked by SVS club president Jürgen Machmeier, according to the DFB statement. The association strongly condemned the incident.
Exner had a lot to do in the game between Ulm and Sandhausen.
(Photo: IMAGO/foto2press)
After the final whistle of the game, Machmeier pushed the referee “back with his chest” on the way to the dressing room, the DFB wrote on its homepage. Assistant Besong then also received “a push in the upper body” from the club president. Sandhausen’s sports director Matthias Imhof also “verbally attacked” the referee after the end of the game, for which he was shown a red card.
“Massive damage”
The incident was “completely unacceptable,” said Fröhlich: “A president has a clear role model function, for football as a whole and in particular for fair and respectful treatment of referees in this sport.” SVS sports director Imhof also showed a lack of respect for the referee with his behavior after the end of the game. “Such excesses cause massive damage to football’s image,” said Fröhlich.
Second division relegated Sandhausen played the game with one less man for a long time after a yellow-red card against Felix Göttlicher in the 9th minute (repeated foul play). Machmeier subsequently blamed the referee team for the fourth defeat of the season. “But what the referee did here today was a line that was crossed. The game was already decided beforehand, I’ll go that far. There was no sensitivity when Felix Göttlicher was sent off. The referee clearly decided the game for me today.” , Machmeier had said.
The sporting events on the tenth match day took a back seat in view of the events in Sandhausen. Dynamo Dresden was able to maintain its lead in the table. The Saxons got a point with a 0-0 draw at 1860 Munich. With 22 points, Dresden is two points ahead of Ulm. In the pursuit duel, Erzgebirge Aue won 2-0 (0-0) against 1. FC Saarbrücken and took third place. “The team gave the right answer to many questions,” said Aue coach Pawel Dotschew at MagentaSport.