What a comeback from Gladbach’s Jonas Hofmann. The international scored early in the redeeming win against VfB Stuttgart. The game is accompanied by a punch from Borussia’s Ramy Bensebaini in the face of his opponent and subsequent renewed VAR discussions.

Once again, the use of the video referee in the Bundesliga caused quite a stir. And once again trainers were annoyed that he had even turned on. Surprisingly, Daniel Farke from Borussia Mönchengladbach and Michael Wimmer from VfB Stuttgart agreed after the 3: 1 (2: 1) of the Rhinelanders on Friday.

The trigger was a punch from Gladbach’s Ramy Bensebaini in the face of Stuttgart’s Waldemar Anton after about 15 minutes. “There are no two opinions. That was a clear red card,” Anton complained after the game. Referee Matthias Jöllenbeck saw things differently and showed Bensebaini a yellow card for alleged unsportsmanlike conduct. “How can you give it a yellow card?” Anton asked angrily. “That’s madness, unbelievable.” Wimmer also found that “Gladbach could not have complained about a red card”.

In fact, video referee Tobias Welz intervened and quoted Jöllenbeck in front of the monitor. But he stuck to his opinion. The fact that the game was interrupted for several minutes then upset both coaches. “I’ve always learned that the VAR should intervene when it’s a clear mistake. If the referee still sticks to his opinion, then that speaks for itself,” said Farke and Wimmer also vehemently agreed: “If the VAR intervenes, there must be a clear wrong decision. That was obviously not the case.”

Farke’s team also celebrated a liberating victory thanks to a quick comeback goal from international Jonas Hofmann in the fourth minute. “Of course you can start that way, especially when you come back from an injury, it’s incredibly good,” said Hofmann at DAZN. In front of 53,178 spectators, goalscorer Marcus Thuram (25th) scored again for Borussia. In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Patrick Herrmann, who had just come on for Hofmann, scored the final point. Thanks to the success, Borussia jumped to seventh place in the table at the start of the 13th matchday. “When you win, everything is always a little more fun,” said Gladbach captain Christoph Kramer. The Swabians, for whom Tiago Tomás (35th) was successful, are still waiting for their first away win this year. The team remains in relegation trouble as 15th.

(This article was first published on Saturday, November 05, 2022.)