A fan acted as a reluctant referee in the 1-1 draw between Wolfsburg and Cologne in round 19 of the Bundesliga yesterday (January 27).
The rare incident occurred in the 14th minute of the match between Wolfsburg and Cologne. Max Finkgrafe took a strong shot and hit linesman Thorben Siwer in the face. This referee was stunned and could not continue on duty.
After that, Nicolas Winter, the fourth referee, had to replace Mr. Siwer to work on the touchline. However, Mr. Winter’s position as table referee was vacant. Accordingly, the organizers made a loudspeaker call for a person in the stands to volunteer to take on the role of referee so that the match could continue.
Suddenly, a hand was raised in the stands at the Volkswagen Arena. A fan ran onto the field to be the referee. This person’s name is Tobias Krull, 32 years old. He gained some expertise while working as director and goalkeeper of the amateur soccer team MTV Gifhorn.
Referees in the Bundesliga this season are having quite a few problems. Previously, Mr. Felix Brych left the match between Frankfurt and Stuttgart at the end of last year due to a serious injury.
On the day he set the record for refereeing the most matches in the German National Championship (344 matches), Mr. Brych was determined to have torn his knee ligament even though he did not collide with anyone. Similar to the players, this injury will force this FIFA-level referee away from the field for 8 to 9 months.
