Bundesliga referee Babak Rafati says the reason for his suicide attempt was a diagnosed depression and not personal reasons, suggested in the media earlier. The pressures of officiating in the Bundesliga and the fear over making a wrong call were the main reasons.
Rafati and his team were scheduled to officiate the 1.FC Koeln vs Mainz 05 match on November 18th. The match was cancelled when the news of the suicide attempt emerged and no replacement team could be found. (Details Here)
In a statement, composed by Rafti and prepared by his lawyer Sven Menke, Rafti said that a false impression was created by quoting personal reasons for the suicide. He elaborated:
"In the pesonal well being of Mr. Rafati the performance stress, for him as referee, and the resulting stress combined with constant fear to make an error, put increasing pressure on him. The pressure started also made day to day problems appear unsolvable. In the end he didn't feel he could measure up"
Orginal German Version:
"Im persönlichen Empfinden von Herrn Rafati wurde vor allem ein
wachsender Leistungsdruck für ihn als Schiedsrichter und der damit
verbundene mediale Druck in Kombination mit der ständigen Angst, Fehler
zu machen, zu einer immer größeren Belastung. Eine Belastung, die
irgendwann selbst Alltagsprobleme unlösbar erscheinen ließ und der er
sich am Ende nicht mehr gewachsen fühlte",
Rafati will now undergo treatment and after successful therapy plans to become active as a referee again.
Bundesliga Matchday 13 provided lots for the fans. With only four matches on Saturday afternoon, due to the short notice cancellation of the Koeln/Mainz Game, no less than 20 goals have been scored. The surprise of the day was the way Gladbach swept over Werder Bremen with 5-0 goals. The win put the Borussia from Gladbach within two point of FC Bayern, which meets Borussia Dortmund in today's evening game. Schalke remains in third place despite its 4-0 victory over the Club in Nuernberg.
In Friday's match Bayer Leverkusen collected an away victory at Kaiserslautern's Fritz Walter Stadion. Freiburg edged out a draw by the skin of their teeth. After being denied a goal in the 84th minute, when a corner was taken before the ball was released, Stefan Reisinger scored in the 5th minute of extra time. Freiburg remains in the relegation zone as the league enters the midway point of the season.
Another remarkable surprise was Wolfsburg's win over Champions League participant Hanover 96. Three goals separated the two in the end.
With four matches to go this could be a record scoring weekend for the Bundesliga. There was much of anticipation for the top rated game this week in Muenchen, were last years champions Dortmund tackled the record champion FC Bayern. The absence of Sebastian Schweinsteiger, who broke his collar bone during Champions League competition, was noticed. After Mario Goetze scored the winning goal for Dortmund, Jupp Heincke's made some changes to increase his attacking game. Mueller and company who put in an excellent performance for the German national side, defeating the Netherlands 30-0, were lacking the presence of a Khadeira and Oezil in this match. Passes were much too inaccurate and many attempts at goal were wasted. Dortmund, with this win, remains competitive, with just two points behind Munich.
Stuttgart defeated Augsburg 2-1 in the Daimler Benz Arena on Sunday. In the final Sunday game, Hamburg finally broke the jinx and defeated Hoffenheim 2-0 with goals by Geuerrero in the 25th and Jansen in the 65the minute. The win moved Hamburg out of the relegation zone.
Matchday 13 Fixtures:
