Hasan Salihamidžić once again launches a sweeping attack: after VfB Stuttgart pointed out a possible “Bayern lobby”, Bayern Munich’s sporting director lashes out with sharp criticism. He also has a lot to say about FC Barcelona and the duel with Robert Lewandowski.
Sports director Hasan Salihamidžić from Bayern Munich has reacted with sharp criticism to the claim by Stuttgart sports director Sven Mislintat that the German record champions are systematically favored by the referees. "That was far-fetched and wasn't the smartest sentence," said Salihamidžić in the Sport1 double pass.
After the 2-2 draw in Munich, Mislintat was angry that referee Christian Dingert denied VfB's alleged 1-1 lead by video evidence after Chris Führich had pulled Joshua Kimmich's jersey against Joshua Kimmich (51'): "You don't need decisions like that," he said, "even though it's obviously difficult to come up against the Bayern lobby as a referee in a stadium like this, with the atmosphere and the pressure."
He was also so "excited because the thing has a history": In the 3-1 draw against Munich in Stuttgart in November 2020, referee Harm Osmers refused to recognize the goal after a similar scene that gave VfB a 2-1 lead. At that time, Tanguy Coulibaly tugged on the sleeve of Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
Despite the crisis in the results of the Bundesliga, Salihamidžić also believes that FC Bayern are confident when they meet Robert Lewandowski and FC Barcelona in the Champions League. "We're not afraid, not at all, but respect for every opponent. We're playing at home and want to win," said the sporting director.
The former professional expects a friendly reception for the former Munich goalkeeper on Tuesday (9 p.m. / Prime Video and in the live ticker on ntv.de). "He won everything with us and produced a tremendous performance. I won't whistle," said Salihamidžić, and the fans also had "a certain feeling" for the situation. Salihamidžić warned against reducing Barça to Lewandowski alone: "We know him quite well, the lads will know how to play against him. But it's not Lewandowski alone, there are other good players in there, they have a good team compiled."
The three draws in a row in the league are "not our claim", emphasized the 45-year-old, but the 2-2 draw against VfB Stuttgart was "a slip, I don't want to paint it black". The head of sport reported that coach Julian Nagelsmann still had to "find his style" when dealing with all the top stars. He hasn't had a squad like that before either. It takes "a good hand and tact, it's a learning process for him too".
