Jude Bellingham could have been sent off with a yellow card shortly before the break, and from Fürth’s point of view he should have been. Sporting director Rachid Azzouzi was furious about this and criticised the referees.
On Wednesday evening, Bundesliga bottom side Fürth played in Dortmund, naturally as clear underdogs – and did pretty well for long stretches. This even led to the home BVB fans booing their own team, who were visibly struggling, in the second period.
Nevertheless, after 90 minutes the score was 3-0 thanks to two goals from Dortmund’s top scorer Erling Haaland – and all with equal numbers. The Black and Yellows could well have spent the whole of the second 45 minutes shorthanded, however, as Jude Bellingham was guilty of a misdemeanour shortly after his first caution and again just before the break. Referee Daniel Schlager, however, did not give him a yellow card, which upset the Central Franconians around coach Stefan Leitl.
“If that had been a blue player, he would have been gone “
And Rachid Azzouzi was also angry with the team, which the SpVgg sporting director made clear directly during the interview with “Sky”. The 50-year-old suspects unequal treatment by the referees: “I think so, even if I get stoned by the referees, that subconsciously it’s like that, if you allow yourself a mistake against Dortmund, then there’s theatre. If you make a mistake against Fürth, then no one talks about it in three hours. “
“We would have been kicked off the pitch. I can give them my seal of approval on that. If that had been a blue player, he would have been gone,” Azzouzi continued to rant, adding once again his view of things: “I do think that simply the backdrop and against the background that it’s Dortmund or Bayern, there are decisions from time to time that are not entirely comprehensible.” The Fürth manager did not want to say that the referees do it on purpose. “But subconsciously it’s already there.” In the end, it didn’t help that Haaland once again proved his quality, “today the referee played his part. A point was in it today!”
Even before Haaland made it 0-2, when there was a free-kick whistle after a one-on-one from Dickson Abiama to Thomas Meunier. Azzouzi was also annoyed about that: “No, that’s not a foul! The way he whistles all the time, that’s not a foul. But with all due respect, I wonder if the player will get a foul like that in the Champions League? “
After the end of the game, Fürth’s coach Leitl also sounded the same horn: “He goes into the duel with great dynamism. The sole is open, he accepts the foul. Then that’s clear for me, that’s a clear yellow-red card. Of course, that’s all annoying for us. That’s a scene that annoys me brutally – and it’s not the first scene this season.” He didn’t want to blame it on the fact that his club is a “small club”, but “for me it’s just annoying – and the referee must have the courage to show a yellow card.