Following FC Energie Cottbus’s 3-2 victory over MSV, the referee and Claus-Dieter Wollitz shared a grand reconciliation. The events leading up to this had taken place over a year ago.

These are images one rarely sees. These are conversations one rarely hears. The so-called Ref-Cam was used during the top Third Division 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 it’s also in Lusatia. An interesting twist: The match between Cottbus and MSV also marked a reunion between Energie coach Claus-Dieter Wollitz and referee Tom Bauer.

The two had clashed in August 2024. Bauer sent Wollitz off with a red card, leaving him furious. At the time, he said: “If I’m not allowed to do what I did today, then there’s no point in talking about my support for soccer anymore. I believe we behaved entirely within the bounds of what’s acceptable. The question is whether I even want to keep doing this at all—it has nothing to do with soccer anymore.”

Bauer defended himself on “MagentaSport,” saying he had only given a yellow card, even though he could have issued a red for entering the field along with Wollitz’s gestures. When Wollitz didn’t calm down, he was shown a red card.

Now came the reunion. In an emotional match, Cottbus won 3-2 with a last-minute goal, and after the 90 minutes, Wollitz offered high praise, which the Ref-Cam captured. He went to Bauer and his assistants and said: “Management, communication—all three were very, very good.” Bauer thanked him and noted that he was glad that he and Wollitz would shake hands again.

Former pro Wollitz emphasized: “That’s what I said, that we’d see each other again and I’d shake your hand then. Merry Christmas.“ Wollitz and Bauer smoked the peace pipe; the referee noted that he viewed the Ref-Cam as an asset. ”I think it’s great that the Ref-Cam gives us the opportunity to shed a little more light on our job.”

A scene was shown where MSV demanded a penalty; Bauer later stated for the record: “From my perspective, you can see very clearly that I can’t see anything—there are so many players’ legs in the way. And if I can’t see anything, I can’t call a foul.”

Bad luck for MSV, for whom it would have been the first penalty of the season…