- Gladbach Small Services expresses dissatisfaction towards the utilization of video evidence.
Gladbach's latest recruit, Tim Kleindienst, has vocalized his displeasure towards the referees and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), following the disappointing defeat in their opening match against Leverkusen, who claimed the title last season. In an informal chat post-match on DAZN, Kleindienst expressed his frustration, stating, "It's bloody annoying." He continued, "It seems like they were intent on denying us any wins. Every 50-50 situation was under scrutiny, every goal was inspected down to the smallest detail. It felt like they weren't willing to give us anything."
Despite falling behind 0-2, Gladbach managed to claw their way back into the game with goals from Nico Elvedi (59) and Kleindienst himself (85), levelling the score at 2-2. However, Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz secured the victory for the champions in extra time (90+11), scoring the rebound from a missed penalty, which was only awarded following VAR intervention.
Conversely, a seemingly valid goal from Kleindienst just before the break was disallowed after the VAR review (44.). Robert Schröder even took a look at the situation himself from the sideline.
After voicing his frustration post-match, Tim Kleindienst expressed his desire for changes in the refereeing system, mentioning, "I think it's time for Tim's little service to be reviewed, it's not working for us." Furthermore, Kleindienst shared his belief that their fights for victories are met with excessive scrutiny, stating, "It feels like we're constantly battling against Tim's little service, which is making it challenging to find wins."
