Alexander Blessin Apologizes for Insulting Referee Following St. Pauli's Defeat

St. Pauli's head coach, Alexander Blessin, has issued an apology for comments made after a highly stressful Bundesliga match on Saturday, in which he insulted referee Florian Badstübner. Blessin's team, known as the Kiezkicker, initially led 1-0 against visiting Freiburg but ultimately lost 2-1 after two goals from former striker Igor Matanovic. Blessin himself received a yellow card for arguing with the referee shortly after Matanovic netted the decisive goal in the 78th minute.

St. Pauli's Frustration Over Result

The loss was particularly frustrating for relegation-threatened St. Pauli, as it meant squandering a prime opportunity to move out of the promotion-relegation playoff position. With Wolfsburg also losing this weekend, a victory would have given Blessin's side a six-point cushion above the automatic relegation zone heading into the March international break. Furthermore, securing a home win against Freiburg would have seen Köln – who recently dismissed their head coach – drop into St. Pauli's current precarious spot.

In a post-match interview with German broadcaster DAZN, Blessin expressed his dissatisfaction, stating, "The reason we lost today was because we were playing against 12 men [referring to the referee]." He further criticized official Badstübner, adding, "If he smirks in my direction whilst presenting the yellow card, I find that disrespectful." Blessin subsequently retracted these comments during the later press conference.

Blessin's Explanation and Apology

In his opening statement at the press conference, Blessin acknowledged, "We could have defended the two goals better." He continued, "It was frustrating when so many 50-50 challenges went against us. However, I need to delve deeper and take responsibility for our performance. We definitely could have defended better. Perhaps, as we did last week, we should have employed a tactical foul. Ultimately, minor details, some unrelated to the refereeing, swayed the outcome of this game. That really hurts."

Addressing his earlier post-match interview with DAZN, Blessin admitted, "My statements made to DAZN simply weren’t smart." He explained, "Honestly, it all came out of emotion. There’s so much at stake here. I deserved the yellow card. While I didn’t like the smirk, that’s not something one can truly use as an excuse."