That’s why St. Paulis Ritska did not leave the field against Homburg

Explaining a controversial scene after St. Pauli’s win over FC Homburg: VAR Christian Dengert.
Photo Alliance / German Press Agency

It was the 42nd minute of the German Cup round of 16 between FC 08 Homburg and FC St. Pauli. When the score was 1:1, footballer Lars Ritska came too late in front of Markus Mendler and knocked the scorer off his feet, making the score a strange 1:1 in the first half. Referee Martin Petersen showed the yellow card, and video assistant referee Christian Dangert did not intervene.

After St. Pauli’s clear 4-1 win in the end, the spectacle was a big topic of conversation. In “Sky”, Mendler considered the decision “borderline.” He admitted that the scene “was not decisive in the match in the end,” but he also explained: “You can give yellow or red.”

The black would have “burst” with better visibility

Homburg coach Danny Schwartz was more blunt. According to his own statement, he did not recognize the scene accurately enough during the match, but he summed it up afterwards: “When I see it now, it is a clear red card.” Black continued. If he had been able to see the mistake properly, he said, “I would have exploded at the line.”

But why was it just a warning? In order to ensure transparency, VAR Dingert, who was active on site inside an enclosure on the sidelines of the match in Homburg, stated that the “referee’s decision” was always “the basis”. Referee Pietersen decided to use dark yellow and VAR eventually upheld it.

If the referee had given the red card, there would have been no objection from us.

The reason for this is that Ritska’s unfair blow was “on the instep.” Dengert, who thought the decision was good, also admitted: “If the referee had given a red card, there would have been no objection on our part.” However, there was no rough play, but there was “a lot of danger with both feet and the ball was there too”.