Bayern, in the semifinals of the Cup after 6 years! But the guests are the referee! » Even the specialists did not agree
Article by Aurelian Botezatu – Published on Thursday, 12 February 2026, 08:33 / Updated on Thursday, 12 February 2026 08:35
Champions Bayern defeated RB Leipzig 2-0 in the quarter-finals of the German Cup. The last time was in the semifinals in 2020, when he won the trophy.
The Bavarians settled the qualification in the second half, with two goals scored in the space of 3 minutes (64 – 67) by Harry Kane, from the penalty, and Luis Diaz. But a phase that happened before the break, with the score 0-0, raised heated discussions both during the match and after the final whistle.
In the 28th minute, Stanisic fouled Nusa (Leipzig) on the edge of the boxthe guests even asked for a penalty, but referee Daniel Siebert did not even award a foul. A wrong decision, according to Bild expert, former FIFA referee Manuel Graefe.
Manuel Graefe: “Sky Sport? I saw the match on ARD”
Graefe claims that “it is a clear and flagrant foul, the referee should have seen it. In my opinion, a penalty should have been awarded. The Leipzig player's foot is on the line of the large box and is hit by the knee of Stanisic, who was in front of him. The knee is also on the line that marks the penalty box. For me, it is a penalty”.
On platform X, where he posts, Graefe's analysis was strongly contested by viewers who had watched the match on Sky Sport. “There it was demonstrated with images and stop-frames that the foul occurred outside the large box, so there is no question of a penalty” – his attention was drawn. The former referee's reaction: “I saw the match on ARD and judged based on the images provided by them.”
Ole Werner: “The referees were not at quarter-final level. Siebert refused to shake my hand”
After the final whistle, the coach of RB Leipzig, Ole Werner, claimed in his turn, in front of the cameras, that the foul on Nusa should have been awarded a penalty: “How is it possible that four of the referees did not see such a foul? This is not the level of a Cup quarter-final”.
He then complained that the “central” Siebert, who had sanctioned him with a “yellow” during the game, refused to shake hands with him at the end: “I went to the referee and he completely ignored me. I don't know what I did to him. We looked into each other's eyes, but for one reason or another, he let me go with his hand outstretched“.
