SC Freiburg feel cheated out of a goal in the DFB Cup semi-final. Stuttgart cheer - but even Undav, as the winner, lashes out at the referee and voices harsh criticism.
24.04.2026, 09:11
24.04.2026, 11:21
dpa
After the dramatic semi-final in the DFB Cup, a disallowed goal caused a lot of anger at SC Freiburg. Even striker Deniz Undav from victorious VfB Stuttgart sharply criticized the referee's decision.
"I don't think you can make a more blatant mistake as a referee. Good for us, of course, but you should never, ever blow the whistle," said the German international after the defending champions' 2:1 win after extra time. Stuttgart coach Sebastian Hoeness could also understand Freiburg's frustration. "You can't blow the whistle in that situation. We would have reacted in exactly the same way as Freiburg did," he said.
Höler sees the decision as cheeky
What had happened? Sport-Club had supposedly taken the lead in the very first minute of extra time. But before Lucas Höler had even shot the ball over the line, the team of referees led by Tobias Welz had ruled a foul against VfB defender Jeff Chabot.
"I'm just trying to put my body into it. For me, it's absolutely not a foul," said Höler on Sky TV. He was in contact with referee Welz immediately after the incident. "I told him that it was cheeky to whistle that away. And he said that it was a crystal-clear decision," reported Höler. Welz did not let him talk to him. "So I don't know what he saw in that scene," said the Freiburg striker.
Günter: "Then I have to end my career here and now"
"If that's a foul, then I think I'll have to end my career here and now, because that's really nothing," grumbled SC captain Christian Günter. "He runs against a 1.95 man, he just flies over and it's never a foul." Freiburg coach Julian Schuster had also recognized a "regular" goal.
The team from Baden felt disadvantaged in several scenes. They had already claimed a penalty in the first half after Angelo Stiller made contact with Maximilian Eggestein in a tackle. Left-back Günter was also annoyed that the referee blew his whistle after just over two minutes of added time in extra time instead of the indicated three. "We don't want to be bad losers either," emphasized Günter.
Undav on the referee: "I don't like him anyway"
After the game, Undav criticized referee Welz in general, who in his opinion did not have the right instincts for the emotional Baden-Württemberg semi-final. "He wasn't able to control the game really well today. He gave too many yellow cards. At the beginning, he mainly whistled fouls that weren't fouls," said the goalscorer after the 1:1 scoreline.
"You can't talk to him either," said Undav about the referee Welz. "I don't like him anyway. We've had a problem before."
