The Thuringian referee Daniel Bartnitzki received threats of violence and death wishes after the third division game between 1. FC Saarbrücken and FC Ingolstadt. The 27-year-old from Erfurt reported this to the “Thüringer Allgemeine”. Bartnitzki has been refereeing in the 3rd league since this season and has been responsible for six games so far.
He received messages like “If we find your car, you’ll have more than just bruises” and “Please hang yourself from the bridge.” Bartnitzki made his social media accounts private “to protect myself and those around me. There were well over a hundred messages and comments of this kind.”
In the 0-2 defeat last Saturday, Saarbrücken’s Boné Uaferro (yellow-red) and Calogero Rizzuto (red) were sent off within seven minutes. After thorough analysis, Bartnitzki admitted errors. “In the first half, Saarbrücken should have gotten a hand penalty, but unfortunately I didn’t have the best view of the situation,” said the referee. He could have avoided the yellow-red card “with more sensitivity.”
Bartnitzki’s Instagram post from 2022 also caused a stir. There he appeared in a driving safety training course at a car manufacturer that owns shares in FC Ingolstadt. The German Football Association (DFB) told “liga3online.de” that they had no reason to believe that their neutrality as a referee was compromised.
Interview in the Thüringer Allgemeine
