Gerhardt after Siebert’s video decision: “I was stunned”

Incomprehension: Yannick Gerhardt in conversation with referee Daniel Siebert (left).
IMAGO/foto2press

Whether sports director Marcel Schäfer (“No unnatural hand movement, no intention recognizable, no penalty for me”) or captain Maximilian Arnold (“How many centimeters was that? Maybe ten?”) – all Wolfsburg were after the 1: 2 at Werder Bremen agree on their opinion on referee Daniel Siebert’s hand penalty decision.

Of course, this also applied to the “culprit” Yannick Gerhardt, who was handed the ball in the 21st minute of the game in the Lower Saxony penalty area from a very short distance from Bremen’s Jens Stage. Siebert was well positioned and initially let the game continue, but then, after a brief consultation with VAR Günter Perl, went to study the video and promptly changed his mind. Niclas Füllkrug used the penalty kick to make it 1-0 for SVW.

Criterion: hand movement after contact?

Probably even more dismayed than the other Wolfsburg players was Gerhardt, who conceded a penalty for the first time in his career. “I touch the ball with my arm or hand, but I thought during the game that it could never be a penalty because the distance was so short. When the referee checked it again and awarded a penalty, I was stunned “said the midfielder.

Even after talking to Siebert, Gerhardt still didn’t understand why the referee obviously classified his first decision to let the game continue as a clearly wrong decision: “He accepts the argument with the short distance, but says that my hand is after moved up after the contact. But I find it difficult that that alone should be a criterion for the penalty,” said Gerhardt.

Gerhardt no longer understands the rules

The 28-year-old cannot understand how he was accused of any kind of intention in the scene in question. “It’s going so fast and I can’t react to it in any way or actively do anything with my hand. They always say that you don’t always have to walk around with your arms crossed in the penalty area. But in the long term I don’t see any other option – because if you get the ball on your arm, it’s always 50:50, how the referee interprets it,” he argued.

With regard to handball decisions, the referees are no longer in control, says Gerhardt, especially since they informed the players again about a change during the winter break in terms of handball – namely that not every handball is whistled. Based on the current experience in Bremen, Gerhardt is therefore: “I am incredibly disappointed and no longer understand the interpretation of the rules.”