A heated reunion is set to take place during the final Bundesliga matchday between Eintracht Frankfurt and VfB Stuttgart, as referee Tobias Welz has been assigned to officiate the game.
The German Football Association (DFB) announced on Wednesday that the 48-year-old will take charge of the encounter. Welz previously refereed the DFB-Pokal semi-final between Stuttgart and SC Freiburg a few weeks ago, an appointment that subsequently drew a wave of criticism.
VfB striker Deniz Undav, in particular, had very little positive to say about the official after Stuttgart’s 2-1 victory, a match where Stuttgart arguably benefited from one of Welz’s questionable decisions.
Shortly after the start of extra time, Freiburg’s Lucas Höler scored what appeared to be the go-ahead goal for a 2-1 lead. However, referee Tobias Welz (Wiesbaden) disallowed the play, ruling that the attacker had used his body excessively against the falling VfB defender Jeff Chabot after receiving the pass.
“That is never, ever a foul. I would have lost it as a striker,” Undav stated to Sky. “I don’t think you can make a bigger mistake as a referee. Good for us, of course, but you can never, ever blow that dead. Lucky for us, unlucky for Freiburg.”
Undav further criticized Welz’s performance, remarking, “He couldn’t control the game very well today. He gave too many yellow cards. Especially at the beginning, he whistled for fouls that weren’t fouls.” At the end of the interview, Undav revealed a personal issue with the referee, adding, “I don’t like him anyway. We had a problem before.”
Former Referee Gräfe Cannot Understand the Appointment
The upcoming Saturday match marks their reunion, an appointment that former referee Manuel Gräfe finds completely incomprehensible. In his opinion, the DFB should not have assigned Welz to a match involving Stuttgart so soon after the controversial semi-final, even if Welz, being from Wiesbaden, might have preferred an assignment in Frankfurt.
«But you don’t want to leave the field with anger in the last game of your career, in which it’s about Champions League participation, do you?» Gräfe posted on his X profile. «When you think it can’t get any worse. How can you rely on luck of the draw with such a history in the appointment?»
Indeed, both VfB and Frankfurt are still vying for qualification for European competition. A victory for Stuttgart could secure their Champions League spot, while Eintracht desperately needs three points to maintain their chances of qualifying for the Conference League.