RB Leipzig coach Ole Werner was simply angry with the referees after the DFB Cup defeat at record winners FC Bayern. His captain and national team player David Raum now has nothing but pity for the referees after the 2-0 loss in Munich.
Werner's anger was sparked in particular by a scene at 0-0 in the 27th minute when a foul by Munich was called. minute when a foul by Munich full-back Josip Stanisic on Antonio Nusa on the Bayern penalty line was not penalized by referee Daniel Siebert.
It was "absolute madness" not to see a foul. "For me, you don't need a VAR (video referee) for that. Everyone in the stadium saw the foul, except four people. And of the four people, at least one, who was standing next to me, saw the foul very clearly," said Werner angrily. "I have to see it, VAR or not. If I don't see that as a foul, with four people at this level, then that's just bad."
RB captain Raum has had enough of the tiresome refereeing issue. "I just feel sorry for them," said the full-back after the quarter-final exit. "I have the feeling that since the video evidence has been there, they're insecure and even more afraid of making mistakes. I would sometimes like to see more courage from the referees." Being a referee is "not the coolest job at the moment", he said.
Teammate Christoph Baumgartner, whose supposed opening goal (4th minute) was taken back precisely by the video referee due to offside, described himself as a "fan of fair" soccer. "But too much power is being placed in the hands of the VAR," said the Austrian.
After a 0:6 and a 1:5 in the Bundesliga, Leipzig conceded 0:2 in their third clash of the season with Bayern this time. Goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt was insurmountable for a long time, but cut an unfortunate figure when he fouled Josip Stanisic before Harry Kane's penalty to make it 0:1 (64th minute). Just three minutes later, Luis Díaz made it all clear and sent Munich into the semi-finals, which will be drawn on February 22.
The loss against a ruthless Bayern did not please Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff at all. However, he was not completely dissatisfied with the performance. "The team put in a decent performance. But then we always miss that little bit," said the former chairman of the Bundesliga club. However, performances like the recent ones against St. Pauli, Mainz and Cologne in the league were "not enough".
Mintzlaff's goals are unmistakable. "I'll say it out loud today: I want to take the team to the Champions League. And if you want to get into the Champions League, you need mentality over 90 minutes. I liked that despite the defeat," he said.
Copyright 2026, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reserved
