“If you ask again, you’ll get a smack.”
Ended with that threat hertha Ex-manager Fredi Bobic (51) on Saturday evening an interview with the ARD sports show after the derby bankruptcy against Union (0: 2). It was one of his last as sports director, and about two hours later he was relieved of his duties with the Berliners.
What happened?
As usual, Bobic faced the media on the tartan track of the Olympic Stadium at around 6 p.m. after the derby. In the approximately one and a half minute interview with the sports show, RBB reporter Uri Zahavi (32) asked the visibly pissed Bobic about the game and the future of coach Sandro Schwarz (44).
Finally, Zahavi asks again: “Can you understand that there is a coaching discussion from the outside? Bobic replies: “No.” Zahavi then thanks him. Bobic says “Please”, hands over the RBB microphone and then adds: “If you ask again, you’ll get a scrub.”
According to BILD information, Bobic then went on to Sky reporter Patrick Wasserziehr (56) without further discussion. Zahavi should then conduct an interview with Union coach Urs Fischer (56). Union spokesman Christian Arbeit (48) heard the incident and said to Zahavi: “What did you do, did you annoy him?”
The RBB distributed the recording of the incident on Facebook on Monday morning. The clip was also a topic in the WDR program “Zeiglers Wunderwelt des Fußballs”.
BILD reached Bobic on Monday morning. Bobic on the incident: “I’m very sorry, I reacted too emotionally. That was just a saying, which of course wasn’t meant that way. Please don’t overestimate that in football shortly after a game.”
Zahavi did not want to comment on the BILD request.
What led to the Bobic derailment? At 5.30 p.m., the Hertha executive committee met in the VIP rooms of the stadium, at the end of which Bobic was separated. Bobic himself was not present at the consultation. The presidium is said not to have been aware of the interview incident at the time.
At around 8 p.m., the club announced the separation from Bobic. Benjamin Weber (42) and Zecke Neuendorf (47) were presented as Bobic’s successors on Sunday.