After FC Energie Cottbus beat MSV 3-2, the referee and Claus-Dieter Wollitz made peace. The story behind this goes back over a year.

These are images that you rarely see. These are dialogues that you rarely hear. The so-called RefCam was used during the third division top match between Energie Cottbus and MSV Duisburg. This is a small special camera that is attached to the referee’s headset. It was used for the first time on February 25, 2024, during the Bundesliga match between Eintracht Frankfurt and VfL Wolfsburg.

Now also in Lusatia. Interestingly, the match between Cottbus and MSV also saw a reunion between Energie coach Claus-Dieter Wollitz and referee Tom Bauer.

The two had met in August 2024. Bauer sent Wollitz off the field with a red card, which left him furious. At the time, he said: “If I’m not allowed to do what I did today, then we don’t need to talk about this soccer support with me anymore. I believe that we behaved absolutely within the bounds of what is acceptable. The question is whether I want to continue doing this at all, because it has nothing to do with soccer anymore.“

Bauer defended himself on ”MagentaSport,” saying that he had only given a yellow card, when he could have given a red card for entering the field and for Wollitz’s gestures. When Wollitz did not calm down, he was given a red card.

Now there was the reunion. In an emotional game, Cottbus won 3-2 with a last-minute goal, and after 90 minutes, there was high praise from Wollitz, which was captured by the ref cam. He went to Bauer and his assistants and said, “Management, communication, all three very, very good.” Bauer thanked him and remarked that he was glad that he and Wollitz were shaking hands again.

Former professional Wollitz emphasized: “I said we would meet again and I would shake your hand. Merry Christmas.“ Wollitz and Bauer smoked the peace pipe, and the referee noted that he would see the RefCam as an asset. ”I think it’s great that the RefCam gives us the opportunity to shed a little more light on our job.”

A scene was shown where MSV demanded a penalty, and Bauer later stated for the record: “From my perspective, you can see very clearly that I can’t see anything because there are so many players’ legs in the way. And if I can’t see anything, I can’t penalize anything.” Bad luck for MSV, for whom it would have been their first penalty of the season…