In football, we must watch the great goal, or a long discussion about the unfairness of the referees’ decision. However, there are moments in the game that one would prefer to forget and what can be more embarrassing than the time when West German official Wolf-Dieter Ahlenfelder fell asleep midway through a Bundesliga match.
The Memorable Mishap
It begins with the setting of the game the climax of which is set in the year 1975 during the centrality of the season for the German bundesliga between two teams; Werder Bremen and Hannover 96. It was just reaching high spirits of the game and impact was both players and fans are interacting actively. And then, when no one expected it, at a time and nature of their choosing, something occurred that football fans would be telling their kids about for decades to come. On the actual halftime break being-signaled by referee Ahlenfelder, the game exhilarating first half was stopped just 15-meg minutes into the second half the game after only 32 minutes of play.
Again, tension rose from the field while spectators ceased to understand what occurred. Had they missed something? But Ahlenfelder quickly realized his mistake, did a 180 and went back to his starting point. He would soon realize this as a mistake that he made. He quickly asked the opinions of the players and reset the match, and the players and the audience ended up chucking at the unusual event.
Of course, referee mistakes have happened for years, and the whistle heard early from Ahlenfelder is worth a legend. In luxury details, it came to light that the referee had a cocktail of beer before the match and a Scandinavian schnapps. Many thought this had something to do with the extra whistle in the early stages of the match but Ahlenfelder was quick to downplay the situation, arguing that he was able to handle the match singly.
Nevertheless, Ahlenfelder went on as referee and became a bit more of a clown than a persecutor of rules. His early call of ‘Gol’ turned into a caricature of fun the game was with time turning into football mythology in Germany.
The story didn’t end there. In Bremen, the city where the match took place, a new drink emerged at local pubs: The beer and a shot of aquavit drink was jokingly referred as the ‘Ahlenfelder’, in tribute to the miscalculating referee. Having become a local custom, the drink sometimes recalled the unforgettable moment to people and the fact that Ahlenfelder liked to have a good time.
The former referee Wolf-Dieter Ahlenfelder died in 2014 at the age of 70 but made his mark in German football. His story emphasizes why football is not less referring to rules and Pro accuracy but thanks to such people and moments, football is so unforgettable.