VfL Wolfsburg came close to their first win in this year’s Champions League against FC Sevilla, then a wrong penalty whistle caused big trouble. In the end, the score was just 1-1.
Emotions ran high as referee Georgi Kabakov headed towards the dressing room corridor after the match against Sevilla. There was wild abuse from the stands, flying objects at the Bulgarian, whose penalty decision in the closing stages caused sheer horror among those who were with VfL.
Schmadtke: “This decision was simply wrong.
After a stinking clearing action in his own penalty area, Josuha Guilavogui touched the opponent Erik Lamela, who himself had gone into this action, afterwards the referee was sent to the video area to review this scene, already to great surprise. Even some Spaniards could not believe that the 35-year-old actually decided on a penalty kick after viewing the images. That’s why VfL boss Jörg Schmadtke doesn’t want to know anything about a dubious decision. “This decision was simply wrong. How the referee came to the conclusion that this was a penalty, I can’t explain.”
It seems that the still image showing Guilavogui’s open sole on Lamela’s shin was the deciding factor. The moving images, on the other hand, clearly put this one clip into perspective. And, as Schmadtke emphasises: “If he had only assessed the freeze-frame, it should have been a red rather than a yellow-red. But it wasn’t. The penalty kick followed, which Ivan Rakitic converted for the final score of 1-1.
“This inflationary checking can affect a game and also the refereeing performance. “
JÖRG SCHMADTKE
And left Wolfsburg furious. Already the previous performance of the referee (kicker grade 6) was worthy of discussion, already the first caution for VfL centre-back Maxence Lacroix in the 1st minute was excessive. In addition, there were several video checks of harmless scenes. “This inflationary checking can influence a game and also the referee’s performance,” says Schmadtke, who points out: “This whistle costs us money and points.” Instead of the 2.8 million euros for a win, there is now 930,000 euros for the point, which is 1.87 million euros less. If VfL end up missing the points to reach the knockout round, the whistle will be even more expensive: qualifying for the round of 16 will bring 9.6 million euros.
Schmadtke is angry, but despite all the justified annoyance of his own, he now demands the focus on the upcoming tasks. “The matter is annoying, but the issue must be settled for us today, we must not dwell on it any longer.” After all, Borussia Mönchengladbach will be playing at the Volkswagen Arena on Saturday (3.30 p.m., LIVE! on kicker). And continued frustration over the wrong decision “won’t help us against Gladbach or in the group”. In which VfL are now third with two points from two games.
Clear deficits in Wolfsburg’s offensive play
Of course, it should not be swept under the carpet that the draw in this match was not completely undeserved, detached from Kabakov’s decision. Although VfL defended really well for long stretches with the strong new signing Sebastiaan Bornauw, Wolfsburg’s offensive play again showed clear deficits. “We had two or three good actions that we didn’t play out with all consistency and in the second half we had good switching moments,” said Schmadtke, but the manager also noticed the possession ratio of 30:70. After taking the lead, VfL pulled way back, letting Sevilla play even more. “I would have liked a bit more courage,” says the 57-year-old, “but it’s also difficult to bring that on the floor against a technically skilled and experienced team like Sevilla.”
Still, it’s the manager’s call: “We have to keep pushing our game, we’re in a process.” And: “We have to become more independent of referee decisions.” In other words, if VfL had scored the second goal on Wednesday, a wrong whistle would probably not have mattered so much. But as it was, referee Kabakov caused sheer horror.