During his playing days, Alex Frei was known as a player who could sometimes get into trouble with the referees during and after matches. In the football talk Heimspiel, Frei makes it clear that he also helped the referees.
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- In the football talk Heimspiel, Alex Frei admits that he wasn't the easiest player to deal with when he was active and explains how referee Manuel Gräfe once silenced him.
- Compared to the past, Frei misses a certain coolness among referees. Unlike in his day, there is no longer any room for casual remarks.
- However, Frei also emphasizes that he sometimes rushed to help the referees. Referee boss Wermelinger agrees and even calls the former goalscorer "a pioneer of the captain-only rule".
"I wasn't necessarily the easiest player, I know that myself," admits Alex Frei in the football talk Heimspiel and tells an anecdote from his time in the Bundesliga. "Manuel Gräfe (former German referee) came up to me at some point and said: Alex, shut your face and score your goals. I thought that was a great line. It was exactly right. A referee comes and makes another funny comment. After that, I ran off and kept my mouth shut."
In the view of the former international striker, the way referees and players treat each other has changed in recent years. "I remember the days of Busacca, Petignat, Wermelinger and Urs Meier - they always had a casual remark on their lips. It was a friendlier, closer relationship than afterwards."
Frei's visits to the referee's booth
Today, there's no room for funny jokes anymore. "I miss the coolness of the referees. That someone comes and maybe hugs a player - even if it looks stupid at first. But that can calm a lot of things down," Frei is convinced.
In his playing and coaching days, Frei would occasionally visit the referee's booth after matches: "My door was open and Alex knew that. He came in after the game from time to time," recalls referee boss Dani Wermelinger and says to Frei: "As a coach, I've seen you come into the dressing room completely emotionless a few times."
Both sides knew their own role. "Alex was very emotional as a player, he knows that too. But it was always honest. You knew that: Where it says Alex Frei on it, Alex Frei is in it," says Wermelinger. "We didn't do a bad job of it."
Pioneer of the captain-only rule?
Frei adds that he repeatedly supported the referee, especially during his time at FCB (2009 - 2013). "There were situations when Dragović or Abraham went crazy again and I went to the referee and said: I'll help you," said Frei. "Then I went to Dragović and Abraham and said: Shut up and concentrate on your game. That's what I did."
Wermelinger agrees with Frei and even says: "I would say you were the pioneer of the captain-only rule." This states that only the captain is allowed to discuss with the referee on the pitch - which is why Frei laughingly replies: "But I wasn't captain at FCB."
