Augsburg head coach Jess Thorup wary of more officiating miscues entering the weekend | OneFootball

Augsburg enter this weekend’s Bundesliga match against Bochum winless in their last two league fixtures. FCA head coach Jess Thorup didn’t disguise the fact that controversial refereeing decisions were on his mind when speaking at his Thursday press conference.

Thorup’s team saw an impressive run of form halted by bad officiating. A widely pilloried penalty call in a 1-1 draw with Hoffenheim two weeks back cost the Fuggerstädter three points and goalkeeper Finn Dahmen a chance at a Bundesliga record. FCA defender Cedric’s Zesiger’s sending off on double yellows in last Friday night’s loss against Bayern Munich turned the tide in what had been a tight encounter.

“We’ve talked a lot about the referees,” Thorup bluntly stated at the press conference. “I hope that they and the VAR make the right decisions in the remaining games.“

Augsburg hope to keep their European ambitions alive this weekend against Bochum; a team highly unpredictable this season despite the fact that they currently sit second-to-last in the table. Saturday’s contest definitely qualifies as a must-win.

The loss of Zesiger to suspension doesn’t make matters easier for the Bavarian Swabians as the on-loan Wolfsburg centre-back has been a crucial component of Thorup’s defense. The Dane did confirm that the man Zesiger surprisingly supplanted, Keven Schlotterbeck, would start in the Swiss international’s stead.

Keven will receive the opportunity to reclaim his starting slot in the very same week his younger brother Nico succumbed to a horror injury and opted to withdraw from public life.

“[Keven] Schlotti has been waiting for this opportunity for several weeks and is getting the chance to show himself,” Thorup announced.

GGFN | Peter Weis