World Cup over for German referee Felix Brych
July 5, 2018
Felix Brych has been told by FIFA that he will not be used again at this World Cup after having made just one appearance at the tournament, the Group E match between Serbia and Switzerland.
Serbia lodged a complaint with football's world governing body FIFA after they felt they should have been awarded a penalty in their 2-1 defeat in Kaliningrad.
Brych waved play on after Serbian striker Aleksandar Mitrovic appeared to have been wrestled to the ground by both Stephan Lichtsteiner and Fabian Schär. The Munich native stood by his on-field decision and controversially opted not to make use of the video assistant review system.
"The course of the World Cup is of course a bitter disappointment for me and my team. But life goes on and we'll be back," Brych said.
Support back home
The head of the German football association's (DFB) refereeing committee, Lutz Michael Fröhlich expressed confidence in Brych, despite his early exit from the World Cup.
"I am sure that Felix will deal with this decision in a professional manner and deliver strong performances at the national and international level in the upcoming season," Fröhlich said. "He remains one of the best referees in the world."
Germany's video referees, Felix Zwayer and Bastian Dankert, remain in the tournament.
jt/pfd (dpa, SID)