VfB Stuttgart

Lehmann May Quit Over Poor Referees

Stuttgart goalkeeper Jens Lehmann has revealed that he may quit at the end of the season because of the dire state of refereeing in the Bundesliga.

Nov 10, 2008 1:39:08 PM

Bundesliga: VfB Stuttgart - Werder Bremen, Jens Lehmann (firo)

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Bundesliga: VfB Stuttgart - Werder Bremen, Jens Lehmann (firo)

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Jens Lehmann, the 39-year-old former German international goalkeeper, was yellow-carded during Stuttgart's 2-2 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt at the weekend, a game in which referee Babak Rafati allowed two controversial goals to stand.

"We all have reason to be not too happy with the performance of the referee," Lehmann told Premiere television after the match.

"I kept asking myself what on earth he was blowing for. These are referees for us and not for the two people in the stands who are writing a report about him. What that man did was unbelievable."

Lehmann was booked for dissent after complaing about Frankfurt players feigning injury.

"There was a situation in which a Frankfurt player feigned an injury so we could not launch a counter-attack," he explained.

"The referee said he had to stop play for the injury and then the man stands up and doesn't even leave the field to be treated. I told the referee, 'Look! There he goes!' and he shows me a yellow card - incredible.

"That was so bad that I may as well not bother playing in future. I did not even say anything nasty to the referee.

"Surely there are better ones. I am sorry, but things cannot go on like this. This is sad for the whole of the Bundesliga."

Mathew Burt