After the home defeat in a wild football match against FSV Mainz 05, FC Augsburg’s frustration was mainly directed at the referee and video assistant. Two scenes in particular upset the hosts after the unnecessary, but also self-inflicted 2:3 (1:2) defeat at the start of the 4th Bundesliga matchday.
The FCA was outraged by the penalty that was withdrawn at the very end of injury time after minutes of video review following an alleged foul on defender Keven Schlotterbeck. “Harry Kane should have been awarded the penalty – just look at Kiel,” claimed FCA sports director Marinko Jurendic, referring to a similar penalty for FC Bayern and its top scorer Kane after VAR was used a week earlier in the record champions’ 6-1 win over newly promoted Holstein Kiel.
“Is the VAR in the Cologne basement blind?”
For Augsburg, it was “not a crystal clear wrong decision” by referee Sören Storks. That is why, in their view, video assistant Pascal Müller should not have intervened in the first place. “The VAR undermines the authority of the referees,” complained Jurendic.
The second big scandal was the justified sending off of Augsburg’s 2:3 goal scorer Samuel Essende in the 70th minute. The attacker’s kick against Dominik Kohr was preceded by an elbow strike by the Mainz player to Essende’s head. The assault was therefore a reaction to Kohr. “Is the VAR in the Cologne basement blind?” asked Jurendic.
Thorup’s sharp rebuke for red offenders Essende
If Kohr had also been shown a red card, the game would have continued in the last 20 minutes with Augsburg having a numerical advantage – after Mainz’s Nadiem Amiri received a yellow-red card before the break. “He has to give the Mainz player a red card, one hundred percent,” said FCA coach Jess Thorup.
The Dane not only reprimanded the referee, but also Essende, who were sent off, first in the dressing room in front of the team and then in the press conference. “It is unacceptable that you put yourself above the team,” said Thorup. Jurendic also spoke of a “no-go” that had caused massive damage to the team. Whether the club will impose a penalty on Essende beyond the suspension is not up to him, said Thorup.
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