Manuel Gräfe has seen a lot during his long career
Quelle: Getty Images
After the last season, Manuel Gräfe had to end his career as a referee for reasons of age. Now he reports on the most beautiful anecdotes from 289 Bundesliga and 143 second division games.
Dhe debates about the tone of voice on football pitches picked up speed again when no spectators were allowed into the Bundesliga stadiums. Instructions from the trainers and sometimes arguments on the field came over clearly audible for the interested observer.
Manuel Gräfe (47) had to endure discussions throughout his entire career as a referee. Now he reports what was and is really being said on the pitch. In the “Bild” podcast phrase mower, he tells his best anecdotes from 289 Bundesliga and 143 second division games.
At a St. Pauli game, Gräfe slipped out his most crude saying. Compared to the then Kiez kicker Marius Ebbers (2008 to 2013 in the club). Gräfe: ‘He came and said to me:’ Ey, Manu, what shit are you whistling for? ‘ And then I said: ‘What you are playing here now, I will still play it at three o’clock in the morning while drunk!’ “
“Of course that was somehow too much of a good thing,” says the referee. “I was younger then. I would never say that again today. But that was an incited atmosphere, and then I was the footballer too, and I got such an emotional phrase. “
Debates with Gomez and Robben
The saying haunted Ebbers for months. Gräfe recently spoke to Ebbers’ teammate at the time, Ralph Gunesch. And he reported what was going on after the saying at St. Pauli. “Ebbers had to suffer quite a bit afterwards. Because whenever he missed a booth in training or elsewhere, it was said: ‘Gräfe would have made him drunk at three at night …’ ‘the referee explains. Gräfe’s conclusion: “That was a story where you actually have to apologize in retrospect because the saying doesn’t work …”
Manuel Gräfe (center) and Marius Ebbers (on the floor)
Quelle: picture-alliance/ dpa
But in most cases it ended well and funny. Like Mario Gomez, who wore the FC Bayern jersey from 2009 to 2013 and then briefly clashed with Gräfe. “Gomez said, ‘Hey, Manu, what shit are you whistling for?’ And I said: ‘You don’t play better either’ … “
With Arjen Robben, the whole thing was more diplomatic. Gräfe fondly remembers the ex-Bavarian and the relaxed manner in which he spoke: “I really appreciated Arjen Robben. Great footballer! But he hit the ground really easily sometimes. Then I went to him and said: ‘Arjen, you don’t need that at all. Stop! Assert yourself like this, you have your class! You don’t have to take the free kick or penalty here now … ‘”
It all sounds funny. But there were other sides and times for Gräfe too. As in 2004/05 in the Hoyzer case. In the phrase mower podcast, Graefe tells grippingly how he investigated the betting scandal in the Hoyzer environment. Both come from Berlin and were considered great referee talents. But Gräfe sensed that something was wrong with Hoyzer … How that happened can be heard in the podcast “Phrasenmower”.
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