Christoph Schickhardt (66) has been a lawyer in football for 35 years. He was involved in the refereeing scandal involving Robert Hoyzer in 2005. Dortmund professional Jude Bellingham (18) now linked Felix Zwayer’s performance in the top match against Bayern Munich to his role at the time.
Mr. Schickhardt, what do you think of Jude Bellingham’s statement about Felix Zwayer?
I followed all the proceedings in 2004/05 and read every page of the files. Zwayer made a huge mistake at the time. It was a youth-typical misconduct in a subordinate form. At the time, he was too weak to defend himself. He has long since served his appropriate sentence and has been rehabilitated. It is dishonest and an impertinence to bring up this story again after 15 years. But it is still in the minds of the Bundesliga, once a year I get references to the history of that time, when a club does not like a decision of this referee. But you have to give a referee the chance to come out of this long past history with honesty and performance.
Does Bellingham face sanctions?
It is impossible to trace what Bellingham said. His statement is indecent but not objectionable, it is clearly covered by the right to free speech. It is legal, but not legitimate. Anyone who has done something like Zwayer has to live with it. In my view, the DFB cannot take action against Bellingham. But the whole incident shows us that things are getting worse with video evidence.
In what way?
The video evidence destroys the authority of the referee on the pitch. The DFB and the league must finally show their colours. Zwayer had a view of the situation on the pitch in the scene with Mats Hummels and an overall impression of the entire procedure. The VAR dissects the whole thing and pulls out the one moment when the arm comes into contact with the ball. The referee’s assessment on the pitch was not a blatant error of judgement at all, but was underpinned by his vision, his experience and a great deal of tact. His decision had been the right one. You can’t ask the referees to manage the game competently and then show them up. Now the referee is only the executor of a technical circumstance.
What has to happen to make it better?
The VAR must take a back seat. He should only intervene in cases of mistaken identity and clear swallows. Otherwise football will be ruined. Football is not an operating theatre.