Lost thriller in the cup
Handball star Knorr practices clear referee criticism
Handball star Knorr practices clear referee criticism
04/14/2025, 10:04 p.m.
Actually, the lion career of Juri Knorr should end with a climax – the cup win. But his Rhein-Neckar Löwen only lose the semi-finals at the final four tournament, then the game for third place. The DHB star expresses criticism of the referees, but is also self-critical.
Handball national player Juri Knorr expressed sharp criticism after the cup weekend. On Instagram the 24-year-old explained in one long statement His allegations on the “performance of the referees” and the “use of the video evidence”. He first made that wrong decisions were always discussed. It is impossible to “always make correct decisions in the fraction of a second, under which external pressure, which everyone involved is exposed to”.
The middle man of the Rhein-Neckar Löwen had previously missed the kitschy farewell to his club. After four years, Knorr changes to the Danish top club Aalborg HB in summer. The final four tournament last weekend should be his big farewell. However, it was not possible: Ivan Martinovic injured himself in the semi -finals against THW Kiel, which caused a break in the lion’s game. In a thriller, despite strong performance, they lost 31:32 in extra time. The game for third place was also lost with 31:32 against the second division club HBW Balingen-Weilstetten.
Knorr then criticized the referee performance in the second game. Already in the mixed zone, immediately after the final whistle, he had been surprised. He didn’t want to suspect, he said to RTL, but Balingen did not need that at the beginning they “get several whistles for themselves that are actually 50:50”. It was “very strange whistles,” said Knorr, which he had never experienced for so long.
In his post, he followed up a day later: It was the task of the impartial to protect the players from injuries. “In my opinion, this was not the case in our second game against Balingen,” wrote Knorr. He founded that “the referees whistled a line from the start, which favored a large scope for fouls and an overall very heated, aggressive mood”.
In this way, the referees also “partially accepted” dangerous situations, wrote Knorr. As an example, he mentions a foul in the 25th minute: Knorr got a blow from Magnus Grupe in a throwing attempt, the HBW professional received a two-minute penalty. Knorr arguments that this foul could have been avoided. “This action would not have happened if the referees had developed a feeling that it inevitably amounts to dangerous situations if they do not intervene.”
TV pictures show something different
Knorr also criticized the video evidence. “Then I wonder why there is a video evidence in our sport when the technical implementation is at the level of a league game.” Here, too, he gives examples, one thing was the foul from Magnus Grupe, which in his view should have been punished with red.
And then the red card of his colleague Olle Forsell shook against Kiel in the semi -finals. This saw the card after a collapse with Domagoj Duvnjak. The TV experts were already stuck during the scene that the red card was too hard. “In both situations, due to poor, insufficient image material, it is decided wrongly (therefore absolutely no accusation to the referees) and, as follows, the outcome of the entire tournament significantly influenced,” wrote Knorr. The television pictures would have shown a completely different facts. “If a video evidence cannot be technically implemented at the level of other sports, the benefit should be heavily questioned in my opinion.”
Knorr concluded his statement with the fact that his explanations “take away nothing from the sporting successes of the THW and Balingen and excessively incorporate into the assessment of our sporting performance in need of improvement in the second game”. It is only his “perception that I would like to share, because I think the topics mentioned are quite relevant for our (great) sport”.
