“Kane would have gotten the penalty”

In the next huge referee frustration in Augsburg, sports director Jurinko Jurendic dared to put forward a bold theory. “Harry Kane should have been given the penalty,” claimed Jurendic, referring to a penalty decision for FC Bayern and its top scorer Kane a week earlier in the record champions’ 6:1 win over newly promoted Holstein Kiel.

After the 2:3 (1:2) in a wild and highly emotional football match against FSV Mainz 05 with two expulsions and plenty of video evidence trouble, the frustration at FC Augsburg was vented on referee Sören Storks and video assistant Pascal Müller. “Why do we talk about referees, VAR or decisions after every game? Why don’t we talk about the game? I’m sorry about that, also for football,” complained coach Jess Thorup after a defeat that left the Augsburg team extremely upset.

Two scenes in particular upset the hosts after the home defeat, which was largely their own fault due to schoolboyish defensive behavior in all three Mainz goals conceded by Armindo Sieb and Jonathan Burkardt as well as their own wasted chances.

In the XXL injury time, referee Storks reversed his spontaneous decision to award a penalty after an alleged foul on defender Keven Schlotterbeck after studying the video for several minutes. For the Augsburg team, the whistle was “not a crystal-clear wrong decision” by the referee. In their opinion, video assistant Müller should therefore not have intervened.

“Is the VAR in the Cologne basement blind?”

“The VAR undermines the authority of the referees,” complained Jurendic. “Why is the referee being called out?” asked captain Jeffrey Gouweleeuw. Schlotterbeck, who missed the ball when attempting to shoot but was brought down by contact with an opponent, spoke of “an optional penalty, not a mandatory penalty. But if the referee looks at the scene for so long, he doesn’t have to take it back,” said the scorer of the 1:2 goal.

It was more frustration for Augsburg after a clear handball penalty was denied to them after a video review in the 2-2 draw at the start of the season against Werder Bremen. From FCA’s perspective, that’s three points in total. So they have four points instead of seven.

The second big scandal was the justified sending off of Augsburg’s 2:3 scorer Samuel Essende in the 70th minute. The attacker’s kick against Dominik Kohr was preceded by an elbow strike from the Mainz player. The assault was therefore a reaction to Kohr’s action seconds earlier. “Is the VAR in the Cologne basement blind? Kohr brushes Essende on the head. And the VAR doesn’t see that,” said Jurendic, stunned.

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 in the majority – after the stupid yellow-red card for Mainz’s Nadiem Amiri before the break. Thorup did not deny Essende’s unsportsmanlike conduct, but complained that Kohr’s offense went unpunished. “Sorry, if that isn’t clearly a red card, then I don’t understand anything about football,” said the FCA coach.

The Dane not only reprimanded the referee and the video assistant, but also in front of his team in the dressing room and then publicly reprimanded the uncontrolled Essende. “It’s not acceptable to put yourself above the team. That’s not acceptable for me,” said Thorup. Sports director 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 DFB ban is not up to him, Thorup noted when asked.

But the truth of the game is that Augsburg had to blame themselves for the defeat. From 29:5 shots on goal, 14:1 corners, 34:5 crosses and 73 percent possession, they scored two goals, which was “far too little,” as midfielder Elvis Rexhbecaj said: “As positive as the performance was, we need points, points, points.”

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