Baumgartl vents frustration at officiating after draw: "Total insolence!"
The mood was understandably testy at the Stadion An der Altern Försterei on Saturday afternoon after Stuttgart snatched a late equalizer.
Former Stuttgart defender Timo Baumgarten didn't mince words when it came to his thoughts on match official Robert Hartmann's performance.
s expected, Stuttgart-Union Berlin proved an especially grueling physical affair. Referee Robert Hartmann, an 11-year-veteran of Germany's top footballing flight, didn't exactly have an easy job on the day. The 42-year-old--in order to avoid losing control of the match--had to let a lot go. The ref brandished just five yellow cards on the day whilst taking an earful from players on both sides.
Former Stuttgart defender Timo Baumgarten didn't mince words when it came to his thoughts on match official Robert Hartmann's performance.
This was simply not good enough for Bundesliga veteran Timo Baumgartl. The 26-year-old fumed in his post-match interview. While the former Stuttgart academy product did concede that his current team's performance wasn't exactly consistent enough to merit a victory, Baumgartl didn't quite care for the 25 total fouls that were whistled against his team.
"Every last 50-50 was whistled for Stuttgart," he bristled afterwards, "There was no rhyme or reason to it. We're not playing youth football. I'm sorry, but this is men's football here! Here, you have to evaluate the duels differently. Total insolence!."
A 90th minute equalizer from Sasa Kalajdzic stole the points from Union, who had hoped to reach 40 points on the season with the victory. Instead, the seventh-placed Eisernen lost some much needed ground in their quest to clinch European club tournament football for their fans next season.
Another year in Europe for Union--who can pack Hertha's Olympiastadion for their Europa or Conference League games--would be of immense financial importance for the club. Baumgartl oozed disappointment at the missed opportunity.
"I would have liked to have cracked 40 points today," he acknowledged, "We didn't execute what we wanted on the pitch in the second half. In so doing, we made Stuttgart strong."