Tomas Oral, Xherdan Shaqiri, Uli Forte and Ricardo Moniz - they have all recently made pointed comments about the performance of Swiss referees. But not all of them received a disciplinary penalty for it. How does this happen and when is the line crossed?
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- Several prominent figures such as Tomas Oral, Xherdan Shaqiri, Uli Forte and Ricardo Moniz have recently publicly criticized Swiss referees - but not all of them have been sanctioned for it.
- In the football talk Heimspiel, referee boss Daniel Wermelinger, blue Sport expert Alex Frei and referee Urs Schnyder explain where they draw the line.
- They come to the conclusion that objective criticism must be allowed, but personal attacks are not okay.
Referees are repeatedly at the center of heated debates with their decisions. For many football fans, criticizing the referee is just as much a part of going to the stadium as the bratwurst, the beer or the occasional "Play the ball for once!"
Even players and coaches often don't hold back with criticism of referees after matches. But how far can you go? In the football talk Heimspiel, referee boss Daniel Wermelinger, blue Sport expert Alex Frei and referee Urs Schnyder discuss verbal slip-ups and explain when they are no longer okay.
Frei on Moniz's angry speech: "That's not on!"
The three quickly agree on the basic tenor: it's perfectly clear that referees make mistakes and have to deal with criticism. Super League and Champions League referee Urs Schnyder doesn't disagree - on the contrary: "We're open to criticism," says the 38-year-old firmly, but adds: "It also has to be constructive so that we can learn something from our mistakes."
Blue Sport expert Alex Frei agrees. It's the tone that makes the music, he says, citing FCZ coach Moniz as a bad example. At the end of November, after the 1:1 draw between FCZ and GC, he took aim at referee Luca Piccolo: "The game was decided by a disastrous referee. He is a disaster for Swiss football."
For Frei, one thing is clear: "That's not on!" At some point, a limit has to be reached and then it's time to call it a day, says the former national team player, who was no good schoolboy himself. The fact that Moniz only makes his statements at the press conference particularly bothers the now 45-year-old - in his view, a time when people should start thinking clearly again. "These press conferences usually take place 45 minutes after the game. Then I expect the criticism to be kept in check."
Suspensions for Forte and Moniz, but not for Shaqiri
The Dutchman is banned for two games by the league after his angry speech. In Winterthur, on the other hand, similarly harsh criticism of the referee only leads to a ban at the second attempt. The dissatisfied Winti coach Uli Forte - ironically after a match against FCZ - raged at the end of January: "If the league wants us to be out of the Super League, all they have to do is say so."
There will be no ban. For the time being. When Forte doubled down a week later: "Apparently it could be worse" and "This is a payback for what I said last week", the league took action and also banned him for two games.
There are no consequences for Basel star Xherdan Shaqiri, who let off steam after the VAR drama in St. Gallen at the beginning of December: "There are far too many wrong decisions. We have to think about whether we really have the best referees."
Punishment mainly for personal attacks
In the football talk Heimspiel, referee boss Wermelinger explains the subtle difference and speaks out against personal attacks in particular: "The red line is crossed when you criticize a person, a referee, below the belt. Or when you criticize the league."
Incidentally, any suspensions are not imposed by the referees' association. The referees simply make a note of negative cases and pass them on to the SFL Disciplinary Commission, which investigates the statements in question and then makes a decision.
"It's important to be consistent," Wermelinger continues. "We certainly have a certain capacity for criticism. We also know that it leads to reactions when we blow the whistle badly. But it all has to happen within a normal framework."
