Schlotterbeck’s risky game: three scenes, three red luck

In the 18th minute, Schlotterbeck attempted a tackle in a duel with Josip Stanisic, hitting the Bayern star badly on the ankle as well as the ball with his outstretched leg. He immediately hits the grass in pain.

The VAR looks at the scene closely, but referee Sven Jablonski sticks with the yellow. It’s more of a dark yellow. Lucky for Schlotterbeck.

“It’s very unfortunate in my eyes,” is how he describes the scene after the game. “The intensity wasn’t that high because I didn’t go in at full speed, but of course I noticed that I hit him well. I think you could give a red card and then I was a bit lucky.”

And luck for BVB. Because that Schlotterbeck scored to give Dortmund the lead just six minutes after his warning. The defender extends a free kick cross from Daniel Svensson unstoppable for Jonas Urbig. The 1-0 out of nowhere, the Westfalenstadion is now electrified.

Schlotterbeck’s playing with fire

This is also due to Schlotterbeck’s emotionally charged, rousing cheers. After his goal, he jumps onto the sideboard, cheers exuberantly towards the fans and high-fives some of them. A daring move – because Bundesliga stars have already seen a yellow card for similar scenes.

But Schlotterbeck is still within the limits of what is permitted. “Players are allowed to celebrate after a goal as long as they do not overdo it (…),” says the relevant DFL Rule 12, and continues: “Leaving the field while celebrating a goal is not an offense that requires a warning. However, players are required to return as quickly as possible. A player will be warned, even if the goal is disallowed, if he: climbs a fence and/or approaches the spectators in a way that leads to a safety problem (…)” So: no second yellow for Schlotterbeck.

Schlotterbeck annoyed: “Then we won’t have football anymore”

He is asked about the scene by Sky presenter Sebastian Hellmann. “I didn’t even want to jump over the board, I just wanted to jump onto the board. I lost my balance. You can see that I want to go straight back.”

He then becomes clear in the direction of the moderator: “If you have to take everything out, then we won’t have football anymore. I’ll tell you honestly, then at some point I’ll play chess. Because if I get a yellow card for it, then at some point it’ll stop! If I jump on the fence, maybe it’s something different. But don’t be angry with me about jumping over a barrier, that can’t give me a yellow card.”

“Bit of a trick”

The yellow card also remains in Jablonski’s pocket when the defender can only resort to a foul in a duel with Stanisic. Schlotterbeck “fell for the trick a bit,” as he openly admits on Sky. “Then I was a little too late and pulled my leg up.” He hit Stanisic “a little bit in the shin.”

“He even stands with his leg on it and only then falls. It’s just a very light contact. Whether it was a penalty will be up to others to decide.” Jablonski at least points to the spot without much hesitation and gives a penalty. Schlotterbeck gets around it without a second card and can continue playing. Lucky again!

Kovac with special praise for referee Jablonski

The national player is allowed to play on the pitch for over 90 minutes. All in all, he shouldn’t have complained about being sent off. However, each scene viewed on its own is absolutely justifiable. BVB coach Niko Kovac gave the referee special praise after the game.

“I think he played a really good game,” the coach said of Jablonski. “I would also like to praise the referee, it was great sport today.”