Felix Zwayer knows the feeling of suddenly being the center of attention all too well. Perhaps that is why the referee is not afraid to provide public explanations for his decisions. Zwayer, 40, probably seldom enjoyed being in front of cameras and microphones as much as after the Bundesliga match between FSV Mainz 05 and Arminia Bielefeld (4-0). Ironically, the referee who was exposed to the most violent hostility in the first half of the season after the summit meeting between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich (2: 3) saved the Bundesliga from an embarrassment in the second half of the season: the first phantom goal in history due to technical failure.
What happened? The Mainz team, who were bold and apparently already rid of all the aftermath of Corona, led 1-0 after 27 seconds against the sedate Bielefeld through a lightning goal by Jonathan Burkardt, when most of the 25,000 spectators soon celebrated the supposed 2-0. The stadium announcer announced captain Moussa Niakhaté as the scorer, but after his header, Arminia keeper Stefan Ortega saved the ball in the scrum on the line (15th). Nevertheless, Zwayer got the goal signal on his watch with some delay – and pointed to the kick-off point.
»But the certain delay made me suspicious.« The boss and his assistants on the square and in the Cologne cellar had the impression that something was wrong here. So Zwayer rushed to the control monitor of his own accord: »I didn’t have to and shouldn’t go out. But I really wanted to get an idea for myself.« And lo and behold: With his instincts, the referee spotted a pitfall in the technology and was happy to praise himself for it go and explain it to the players and those involved«. The ball was by no means full diameter behind the line.
The Fifa referee said he had never experienced anything like it. The provider should now urgently evaluate the incident. “We heard that the system was checked during the game and that there was actually a malfunction.” Arminia coach Frank Kramer, who was not in the mood to joke after the crash on a direct relegation zone, took the oddity with a touch of gallows humor hin: »The more technology, the better it is. Then technology can in turn overrule technology.«
But it’s hard to imagine what would have happened if no one had exposed the blackout of goal-line technology introduced in 2015. On the one hand, a Bielefeld protest would have had a good chance of success. Just as the DFB ordered a new start after the only phantom goal by Thomas Helmer on April 23, 1994 in the Bundesliga game FC Bayern – 1. FC Nürnberg (2: 1) and then a violent rebuke from the world association Fifa, which at the time was still insisting on the factual decision of the referee cashed. On the other hand, it would have scratched the reputation of a referee who even received death threats after the young BVB professional Jude Bellingham recalled Zwayer’s dubious role in the Hoyzer scandal. After that, almost everyone who has anything to do with German refereeing reported on the cause. For self-protection, the Berlin real estate agent then prescribed a break on the whistle, which only ended five weeks ago.
It is not without a certain piquancy that Zwayer was actively involved in another novelty on Saturday when he pointed to the penalty spot three times within a quarter of an hour in the second half. However, the East Westphalian defense chief Amos Pieper did not complain about the referee, but about his foolishly fouling teammates Manuel Prietl and Andrés Andrade. One after the other, Niakhaté (65′), Burkardt (75′) and Marcus Ingvartsen (79′) converted safely, although it was remarkable that captain Niakhaté alone decided who would shoot. “He’s the boss,” reported Burkardt. The 05ers are doing well with their selection process, as evidenced by a series of 36 converted penalties since April 2013 (!).
Even such a flood of eleven, Zwayer declared, would certainly be “extraordinary”. But if fouls happened, »then they have to be punished. Then I can’t start counting either. And then say: Yes, man, now it’s getting to be too much«. In general, the afternoon at the Europakreisel in Mainz showed him how exciting his job can be: “Things happen that you don’t expect and then it’s very important to keep calm and use common sense.” He said that well – and well done too.
