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At the weekend there were controversial scenes in the Super League in both Basel and Sion. Referee boss Daniel Wermelinger reacts.
There was great anger in Basel when referee Alessandro Dudic awarded FCZ a penalty in injury time. The subsequent 0:1 was ultimately the preliminary decision in the classic and the reason for further unpleasant situations such as the red card against Taulant Xhaka, for which the FCB captain was banned for 8 games.
The day after, chief referee Daniel Wermelinger took his time and reviewed the scene: “You don’t have to look for excuses, that was a mistake that shouldn’t happen to us at this level. Not in the stadium and not in Volketswil. And if it happens in the stadium, the ‘airbag’ VAR in Volketswil should open.”
Basel and Sion: 2 different situations
Both the referee and VAR saw Basel defender Michael Lang touch Bledian Krasniqi. “It wasn’t checked well enough in Volketswil,” said Wermelinger, who is also upset because “it would have been an easy case.”
The chief referee assesses the situation in Sion differently. After the game, referee Luca Cibelli explained his reasons for taking back a hand penalty against Winterthur – the decision was not wrong. But: “The topic of handball is an incredibly emotional topic. We lay out the hands the way the rules tell us.”
Wermelinger can understand the frustration in Basel very well, after all a mistake actually happened. “The anger in Sion, on the other hand, is simply part of the business. I always say that football is like a theater and everyone has their role.”
For the 52-year-old, however, it is undisputed that not everything is running smoothly at the moment. The former referee sees several reasons for this:
- Shortage of skilled workers: With regard to the increase in the Super League, 4 referees had to be recruited this year. “You would have to be accompanied very, very closely. But the Swiss Football Association and the league are in a difficult financial situation. There is no additional money for the referees, I can understand that,” said Wermelinger. Nevertheless, the situation is very difficult.
- Communication: On Sunday, Basel goalie Marwin Hitz criticized the communication of the Swiss referees. Wermelinger agrees with the veteran to a certain extent: “It is in the nature of things that a young referee who has not been in the league for long communicates differently than a veteran. But you have to ask for your understanding. Younger people have their focus elsewhere and have to find their way into a new league in terms of communication.” However, he notes that the youngsters don’t make more mistakes than the established ones.
- Burden: Many Swiss referees are currently deployed on the international stage. What is actually an award also brings with it difficulties. You can’t summon a referee for an SL game at the weekend if he was still refereeing in the Europa League on Thursday. This means that there are restrictions in the appointment of referees.
- Amateur status: “Most referees in the Super and Challenge League work 80 or 100 percent. That pushes you to your limits,” says the boss, who draws the conclusion that “the overall performance is not as good as when you’re a professional”.
Nevertheless, Wermelinger demands not to paint everything black because of the last impressions. It has been possible to reduce the errors since the introduction of the video referee, “this is also shown by our statistics”. But he can understand anyone who “shakes their head” because of individual mistakes if you are directly involved.
In order to (even) make fewer wrong decisions in the future, the 52-year-old is also addressing three points. “The calibrated offside line will come. Communication to fans and clubs needs to improve while the check is in progress. And finally we have to keep at it and improve ourselves so that mistakes like the one in Basel don’t happen again.”