Surprising referee change: Tobias Stieler for FC Bayern
A surprising referee change is causing a stir, because Daniel Siebert, originally scheduled for the Bundesliga top match on Saturday evening between FC Bayern and Borussia Dortmund, is ruled out due to a calf injury – Tobias Stieler takes charge in the Allianz Arena and is being judged by the media as decisive.
Siebert had flawlessly officiated the Champions League final between Arsenal and Paris Saint‑Germain in May, before he suffered a calf injury last Sunday in the Hoffenheim‑versus‑Bayer Leverkusen match (3‑0) and was replaced at halftime by Robert Hartmann.
Siebert's controversial appointments against Borussia Dortmund
In the case of the April 2022 match, his latest appointment against Borussia Dortmund was marked by two serious errors: He missed a violent tackle by Benjamin Pavard on Julian Brandt that should have resulted in a yellow card, and later admitted: “That was the biggest mistake in this game and I am very upset about my assessment of that incident.”
About an hour later he denied Borussia Dortmund a clear penalty after a foul by Pavard on Jude Bellingham; the camera clearly showed the contact, and Siebert admitted: “A penalty would have been the correct decision,” which could have altered the final score of 3‑1 for FC Bayern.
Stieler's own mistakes and criticism
Stieler, who stood in the classic over six years ago against Borussia Dortmund, missed a punishable handball by Jerome Boateng in the 58th minute that deflected Erling Haaland's finish off the post; here as well the VAR did not intervene.
In a DFB Cup match on Tuesday between HSV and Eintracht Frankfurt, Stieler denied a penalty after a hard body check by Robin Koch on Zakaria El Ouahdi, described the situation as a “classic body check” and said: “The decision was not completely wrong, so it’s very good that the VAR supported it, because that’s what we want.” However, he admitted that the better decision would have been a penalty.
For many Borussia Dortmund fans the switch to Stieler could be a ray of hope, as Daniel Siebert left hardly any positive memories in encounters with the record champions; nevertheless Stieler himself is no blank slate, which makes the upcoming match an interesting duel of decisions.