- Angry Wilmots demands rule change on video evidence
Marc Wilmots was in a foul mood. An entirely unjustified yellow-red card for Ron Schallenberg, from Schalke's perspective, was the main reason for the 1:3 (1:0) defeat of the Gelsenkirchen team in the 2nd Bundesliga match against 1. FC Nuremberg. And it prompted Wilmots to strongly advocate for a change in the video assistant referee (VAR) rules: "I find it a shame that the VAR is not allowed to intervene in such a case."
What happened? Schallenberg received his second yellow card in stoppage time of the first half, with the score at 1:0 in favor of the hitherto dominant visitors, for dissent following a warning a few minutes earlier. In a duel with Nuremberg's equally cautioned midfielder Caspar Jander, referee Nicolas Winter saw a foul by the Schalke player, but it was actually the other way around.
"Cheek" and "Game-Changer"
"The Nuremberg player kicked Ron in the foot," described Schalke coach Karel Geraerts the key scene. He considered it "the game-changer." Schalke captain Kenan Karaman spoke excitedly of a "cheek." For Wilmots, "the whole game turned on this wrong decision," as he noted angrily to reporters in the stadium catacombs after the final whistle.
"Everyone makes mistakes, even referees. That happens," said the 55-year-old Belgian: "That's why it would have been good if he could have been supported in this situation. Often, an intervention is made to check if a yellow card might not be a red card after all." Wilmots calls for a sensible adjustment of the rules: "In such situations, in my opinion, the VAR should be allowed to intervene."
I'm not going to sugarcoat it: The referee's decision significantly impacted our game. It was a clear mistake, and I'm not going to lie, it was frustrating.
