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Wolfsburg – already in serious trouble before the March 2026 international break – are now in worse shape after seeing their Bundesliga winless streak extended to 11 matches on Saturday afternoon. The German Wolves managed to rush out to a 1-3 lead against heavily favored hosts Bayer Leverkusen on matchday 28, but conceded five unanswered goals in what ultimately ended as a 6-3 defeat.
Newly hired Wolfsburg head coach Dieter Hecking criticized referee Martin Petersen and the Bundesliga VAR team officiating the match heavily afterwards. While listing the match officiating as the “third reason” for the defeat in his post-match interview with Sky Germany, Hecking was less apt to contain himself at the post match press conference.
Wolfsburg’s Dieter Hecking rails against the refereeing
“The referee’s performance today simply wasn’t up to Bundesliga standards,” Hecking told Sky. “The penalty [leading to the 1-1] stood [even though it was soft] and he initially let play continue on our [1-3] penalty [in the 38th minute].
“Then there’s an elbow check by Tapsoba, for which he should have been sent off with a yellow-red card,” Hecking continued. “Incidentally, that player then scored the 4-3. Then, before the 4-3, we had a Leverkusen player who simply ran into [Denis] Vavro and clearly rammed him. That wasn’t penalized by VAR.
“A player is on the field who shouldn’t be there anymore with the score at 1-3,” Hecking – reemphasizing the Tapsoba matter – concluded. “That’s also one of the stories of this game. We believe we weren’t refereed well in three or four situations today.”
“We got anther penalty awarded against us [on the 3-3] in the 53rd-minute,” Hecking went on to say in his opening statement at the post-match press conference. “Then there was a corner that maybe shouldn’t have been awarded. That led to the 4-3.
“Before the questions the questions come, I’ll bring up the topic of the refereeing,” Hecking continued. “Far be it from me to suggest that officiating alone was responsible six goals conceded, but the performance today was abysmal. We were unfairly punished today.“
“You have to realize what was at stake today and how the refereeing affected the players,” Hecking said in response to a later question asking him for a follow-up comment. “A coach much focus on what he can control and I’ll be the first to admit that we can’t concede six goals.
“Think about how differently the match could have played out and the situation Wolfsburg is in,” Hecking continued. “Martin Petersen will call a better game next week. Our team is alive and was well positioned to win this match today, but they were thrown off course.
“Next week, I hope we defend better and I hope Martin Petersen has a better match,” Hecking concluded.
