Shortly before kickoff in their Tuesday evening Pokal fixture, SC Freiburg got whacked with a rough piece of news. Freiburg will have to do without Johan Manzambi for their next three Bundesliga fixtures. The DFB sports court confirmed a harsh penalty for the 20-year-old.
Manzambi received a controversial red card against Bremen
Match official Deniz Aytekin’s decision to – after VAR review – turn Manzambi’s yellow card into a red wasn’t without controversy. Bremen’s Olivier Deman slid into his Freiburg counterpart during a 50th-minute challenge. Manzambi ended up studding Deman in his calf, but it wasn’t clear as to whether it was intentional.
Aytekin and the VAR team’s ruling ended up proving the first in a series of officiating decisions that would eventually send SCF head coach Julian Schuster over the edge. Schuster – courtesy of the fact that he picked up his fourth yellow card of the season – will also be missing this weekend in a tough Bundesliga match against Hoffenheim.
Manzambi will miss upcoming matches against TSG Hoffenheim (Saturday), Borussia Mönchengladbach (February 22nd) and Eintracht Frankfurt (March 1st). Freiburg issued a statement noting that they disagreed with the three-match-ban. The statement nevertheless did not explicitly note that the club would appeal.
DFB labels Manzambi a “repeat offender”
Manzambi already received a two-match-ban for a red card incurred earlier this season. Manzambi has now collected two reds and four yellow cards at the Sport Club. One more yellow card will lead to potentially an even longer spell on the sidelines due to the DFB accumulation rules.
Manzambi’s teammate Jan Niklas Beste – who finally scored his first goal in SCF colors with the match-winner against Bremen – also sits on his fourth yellow.
