Michael Trippel, the stadium announcer at Koln, did not agree with the referee’s decisions in the game against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday night. We know this because at various points during the home team’s 2-1 defeat, he expressed his discontent over the public announcement system to nearly 50,000 people.
First, in response to a VAR intervention resulting in a red card for Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, which he very audibly described as “Widerlich” — disgusting. Then, after the final whistle was blown, he was unable to contain his frustration over the officials’ failure to spot a handball in the Dortmund penalty area.
“I’ll probably get into serious trouble, but I have to get this off my chest: In the 95th minute, there was a clear handball in the Dortmund penalty area, and nobody even looked at it,” he said.
Trippel will get in serious trouble. He has been the Stadionsprecher at the RheinEnergie Stadion for more than 25 years, and as he explained afterwards to members of the German media, he’s not some varnished television personality, nor does he pretend to be anything more than a fan with a microphone.
“I’m not a stadium announcer who comes from a broadcasting company and otherwise has little to do with the club. No, FC Koln is part of my life; this is my 63rd season as a fan. I’ve been involved with FC Koln for 42 years — there are a lot of emotions involved. When you put so much love and intensity into the club and are caught up in the relegation battle, it’s understandable that something like that might slip out. As I said, I’m sorry if I offended anyone,” he said.
Koln’s sporting director Thomas Kessler did not sound amused, saying: “It’s not right for a stadium announcer to express his emotions over the microphone during a Bundesliga match. We will certainly discuss this afterwards.”
Perhaps Trippel can expect a knock on the door from the DFB (German Football Association), who ask that announcements made over stadium speakers are always neutral. In reality, there’s plenty of partisanship around the league, but openly criticising decisions probably crosses a line or two and is not a precedent that the DFB will let linger.
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In football terms, Koln have got bigger problems. That defeat was the fourth in five games and a long slump, which has seen them win just twice since the start of November, currently has them only out of the relegation play-off on goal difference. More concerningly, St. Pauli and Mainz (who both drew this weekend) are both in better form, with Lukas Kwasniok’s side now facing an awkward trip to the Volksparkstadion on Saturday night to play Hamburg.
Those are two newly promoted teams, of course, and two vast clubs with heft and character that the Bundesliga was happy to welcome back. They are heading in different directions for now, though.
On Hamburg: a really good win in Wolfsburg (more about whom later). Luka Vuskovic won two penalties, scored one himself, and gave another one of those immovable performances at the base of Merlin Polzin’s back three.
Elsewhere around the league, a brilliant game between Mainz and Stuttgart finished 2-2, and there was an equally entertaining 3-3 draw down in Breisgau, between Freiburg and Bayer Leverkusen.
A sidenote: Leverkusen forward Christian Kofane is really showing signs of developing into a fine player. Kofane is only 19 and was playing in the Spanish Segunda Division for Albacete last season, but the Cameroonian scored two in two games last week — goals four and five of his Bundesliga season — and took both of those chances with eye-catching style. Arsenal, watch out for him in the Champions League.
Over to Leipzig, where RBL needed a very late, highly fortuitous own goal to beat Augsburg and keep touch with the top-four race. Poor Finn Dahmen. The Augsburg goalkeeper was blameless for that winner and then came within a foot of equalising with a diving header from a last-second corner.
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Bayern Munich brushed Borussia Monchengladbach aside on Friday night, winning 4-1 without Harry Kane. Rocco Reitz, the Gladbach captain, conceded a penalty and was subsequently sent off for a professional foul, meaning that he will now miss Friday’s critical six-pointer against St. Pauli.
Reitz is really in the doghouse. He grew up a Gladbach fan. He was actually registered as a club member on the day he was born — he spoke about that in this interview a few years ago. However, according to reports in the German media, which remain unconfirmed and have not been properly sourced by The Athletic, he’s been in negotiations with RB Leipzig about a summer move.
Gladbach are still at risk of relegation and, true or otherwise, that story has been predictably provocative.
A quick drop down into the 2.Bundesliga, where there was an outbreak of vandalism in the game between Hertha Berlin and Preussen Munster.
Just before half-time, the VAR called the on-pitch referee to the video screen to have a second look at a tackle on Michael Cuisance. However, once in a position to review the incident, the monitor remained blank and the referee had to be instructed by radio to give the penalty.
Why? Well, not such a mystery — especially after the Munster fans unfurled a banner later in the game, imploring German football to “unplug VAR” and after photos had been published showing a balaclava-wearing ultra jumping back over the fence next to the VAR monitor, which had — literally — been unplugged.
“𝐏𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐮𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐕𝐀𝐑”
Preussen Münster fans displayed this banner after a masked fan unplugged the VAR monitor during their Bundesliga 2 game against Hertha Berlin.
The referee went to the screen to check a potential penalty, but found the screen blank. pic.twitter.com/gAiXfbdboZ
— DW Sports (@dw_sports) March 9, 2026
“A masked spectator from the active fan section illegally entered the pitch and unplugged the technical equipment,” Munster later said in a statement and promised to find and punish the perpetrator.
Good luck with that.
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Finally, Wolfsburg and what is an increasingly desperate situation.
Winless since January 14, their home game against Hamburg was given a big build-up. In the days before, lots of supporters turned up at an open training session to give their support, and the footage of those interactions has been shared far and wide.
Auf ins Abschlusstraining! #VfLWolfsburg pic.twitter.com/IzKErQR1v4
— VfL Wolfsburg (@VfL_Wolfsburg) March 6, 2026
There was a hint of menace at the game, though. In the home end, a banner was hung instructing the players that this was their “last chance to show fight”. On the pitch, they did show some; it could be argued that they were too physical against Hamburg, given the concession of two penalties and a raft of fouls.
As has been the case far too often, though, they failed to deal with adversity and fell apart, despite having taken a 1-0 lead through a Christian Eriksen penalty. They were not hopeless. In fact, Hamburg defended very well in the final minutes to hold onto a 2-1 victory.
But it was too little, too late. At full time, flares were thrown down onto the pitch from behind the goal and black smoke billowed from the stands. It was the kind of scene that typically greets relegation, with stewards forming a line to protect the players.
The frustration is understandable. Given the quality within a squad that includes Eriksen, Mohamed Amoura and Lovro Majer, and was strengthened with more than €60million (£52m, $69m) of spending last summer, there’s no justifying either their league position or their recent performances.
On Sunday morning, the club took action. Peter Christiansen, the sporting director, was dismissed. Christiansen has been under pressure for a long time and heavily criticised for his squad building. Head coach Daniel Bauer was also sacked. Bauer was initially an interim appointment following the dismissal of Paul Simonis in November (after five months in charge). He was given the job on a permanent basis, but then only averaged 0.45 points per game during his 11 matches in full-time charge.
It’s a sad situation. Bauer has been at the club for a long time, coaching teams at different levels, but the lights are flashing, the alarm bells are ringing, and Wolfsburg had no choice but to make a further change.
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Dieter Hecking has been appointed in his place. It’s a smart move and one which, at least in the short term, should restore some goodwill. Hecking previously coached the club between 2012 and 2016, taking them to the Champions League and winning the DFB-Pokal in 2015. Hecking also built the team from which Kevin De Bruyne emerged to become a star at Manchester City.
A saviour? Let’s see. But this is a formidable challenge. Wolfsburg are now four points adrift of the relegation play-off spot and travel to Hoffenheim on Saturday. Lose there and the 2.Bundesliga will be looming in the window.