„Hard to accept“

„Congratulations to Torsten and FCK on the win. We were the better team over the 90 minutes, and I’d like to commend my team for that. For us, it’s no longer about survival, but about midfield positions. To deliver such an emotional and footballing performance shows the character of this team. It’s a real shame that we’re going home without any points.“

„There are many voices and opinions on today’s decisions; it’s not necessary for me to give my opinion on them.“

„We certainly weren’t always perfect today. With the switch to a back four, we found better access and were more likely to find crosses. But these weren’t precise enough. We still had a good phase in the first half, with Darmstadt repeatedly threatening through deep runs. My team kept their heart on the pitch and has the great strength to come back after falling behind. Today was a tough battle, and we also had the necessary luck in one or two situations. We shouldn’t hide that.“

„Basically, I’m satisfied with today’s performance. We were the better and more dangerous team, although Kaiserslautern also had some good phases. Unfortunately, the game was decided by the referee’s decisions, which is hard to accept. It took six or seven minutes for the penalty to be awarded to Kaiserslautern, and after looking at the footage, I have to say it wasn’t a penalty. For the second goal, the referee’s positional play was catastrophic, but the game continued anyway. Fraser Hornby’s obstruction left us completely open, and we conceded a goal. I can’t accept that. It’s hard enough to play here at the Betzenberg in front of 50,000 people. Decisions like that make it impossible. Nevertheless, we never gave up and fought until the end.“

„Basically, it was a good game from us, although we could have played some situations better, especially in the first half. The goals we conceded are obviously very bitter, but that’s a different story. During the penalty, the ball bounced in front of me, then there was a press, and I got to the ball a bit earlier. I can’t understand why the penalty was awarded. But during the ten minutes of VAR, every tiny detail was scrutinised. The story of how the 1-2 came about is also extremely bitter; we conceded the goal due to the referee’s positioning. But I’d rather look at our performance, and it was impressive. Unfortunately, it didn’t yield the right result.“

„There were a few things today that I couldn’t understand. The penalty shouldn’t have been awarded, especially because the referee initially judged the on-field challenge to be a press-up, which, in my opinion, it was. On the second goal, our player was clearly obstructed by the referee. The referee said that according to the rules, he’s not allowed to intervene, but I do think he should have a sense of the fact that he was blocking our player and thus allowing the goal. Overall, I’m proud of the team, which gave it their all until the end. This game is very difficult to evaluate, but our sheer performance makes me look forward to the future with optimism.“