Champions League: Bayern Already Bitching About the Referee

By: Martha | April 3rd, 2007

Well, this is a new one: Bayern Munich are engaging in some preemptive bellyaching about the referee ahead of today’s match in Milan, just in case things go badly and they need to have some excuses on-hand. The issue, however, is not the ref’s history or ability — it’s his ethnicity that’s the problem. Seriously. According to Bayern director general Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, one of the reasons for his club’s 4-1 quarterfinal loss to Milan last year was the referee, who just happened to be a Russian. He was, at least in Rummenigge’s mind, “hostile to us,” apparently entirely because he was Russian. And who was appointed to oversee today’s match? One Iouri Baskakov who — you guessed it — is ANOTHER RUSSIAN! Can you believe it?

The best thing this about this story isn’t even Rummenigge’s (hopefully unintentional) racist complaining, though. The best part is that he’s mostly upset because the Champions League supervisor of referees, Volker Roth, is a German, and the director general is stunned — Stunned, I tell you! — that a German would not only fail to recognize the obvious evil of all Russian referees, but also let his countrymen down so badly by assigning Baskakov to the match. Man. What year do you think it is in Rummenigge’s head? 1945?

Category: AC Milan, Champions League, Rumors & News, Serie A

Tags: AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Champions League, Iouri Baskakov, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, referee, Rumors -amp; News, Serie A

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• Lisa |  April 3rd, 2007 at 8:57 am

  
  
  

  *is still laughing about this*
  I’m surprised Football Italia left out the sneer about Pippo.

  Posted from United Kingdom

  

• ana |  April 3rd, 2007 at 9:12 am

  
  
  

  A 4-1 loss blamed on the referee? LOL!

  Posted from United States

  

• Bob |  April 3rd, 2007 at 9:13 am

  
  
  

  Everyone knows that Russia hates Bayern!

  Posted from United States

  

• Teddy Frexter |  April 3rd, 2007 at 1:58 pm

  
  
  

  Rummenigge definately has a really bad habit of generalising and acusing people based on culture/nationality. I remember that back during the Italian match fixing scandal he also gave interviews claiming that cheating is part of Italian culture and encouraged and applauded if you can get away with it. It’s time the media collects and compiles this nonsense and builds up some pressure. I bet he doesn’t want to be running around with a racist image. And Bayern wouldn’t be too happy either. Though I’m unsure whether this would really change his mentality/thinking.

  Posted from Germany

  

• Martha |  April 4th, 2007 at 3:12 am

  
  
  

  Thanks a lot for that background info, Teddy — context makes the whole thing more disturbing that funny (which one wouldn’t have thought possible).

  Posted from United States

  

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