Sometimes the referee made the game about himself
Sometimes, officiating is atrocious and incredibly frustrating because there is nothing we can do about it. Stuttgart was the more aggressive team in this match, committing more fouls but receiving far fewer cards. Their players committed multiple fouls without seeing yellow, while Dortmund’s squad was assaulted by cards for merely looking at Daniel Seibert the wrong way.
Dortmund were warned early through Emre Can’s yellow, then Ryerson’s, then Adeyemi’s, but Stuttgart got away with every bad challenge, and no player saw yellow until Angelo Stiller for bear-hugging Ryerson for the third time in the eighty-ninth minute. Still, after being fouled, Ryerson was sent off… for being fouled? In fact, Julian Ryerson was sent off without committing a single foul in this match.
Julian Ryerson’s red card was unjust. His first yellow was undoubtedly for shaking his fist at Daniel Seibert from a distance after the official had made the wrong decision on the play in question. Ryerson was subsequently fouled left and right, with Angelo Stiller especially giving him trouble. Ryerson’s second yellow came after he was the victim of a nasty challenge from Angelo Stiller, in which Stiller finally saw a yellow card. Ryerson was visibly frustrated with being held onto but got up and walked opposite the direction of Daniel Seibert, who decided to make the match about himself, reaching for his pocket again.
Dortmund had opportunities to win this match, and those deserve criticism, but shame on you, Daniel Seibert. That was a genuinely unjust red card and woefully one-sided officiating. Shameful from the DFB.