Did referee Robert Schröder insult Hamburger SV players? "It went below the belt," HSV is sure. But the referee is now fighting back. After two red cards, he only "emphatically" asked to leave the field.
Referee Robert Schröder has dismissed allegations by Hamburger SV of inappropriate choice of words during the second division game against Darmstadt 98. "I didn't say any insults and there were no insults," said the 36-year-old on Sky.
HSV midfielder Jonas Meffert criticized Schröder's handling of the football professionals on the pitch. "I've never experienced anything like it. The referee was absolutely rude. The way he talked to us is totally unacceptable. It went below the belt," he said. What Schröder said to his teammate Aaron Opoku was "disrespectful".
Promotion favorite Hamburger SV suffered their second home defeat on Friday evening with a 2-1 (0-2) loss to Darmstadt. There were four sending-offs in the game, three for HSV: Opoku was sent off just eight minutes after being substituted on for a kick against Fabian Holland (64th), goalscorer Ransford Königsdörffer (89th) saw red for an assault. And the protesting HSV sports director Jonas Boldt also had to go to the stands after being sent off.
Schröder saw the events very differently. "The players who then got the red card got the message from me to leave the field. They didn't do that, so I did it emphatically. But I didn't see any mistakes on my part," emphasized the sports specialist Hanover: "I made it very clear to the players that we don't need to discuss such scenes and that I can't understand why there are so many discussions about offenses that are so clear to me."
It wasn't just the game that was on fire: After the final whistle, there were fights between fans in the stadium. The trigger is said to have been a flare fired from the guest block. In addition, the fire alarm was apparently triggered in a sanitary area.
