Blessin Regrets Blaming Ref After Tough Loss

Alexander Blessin, the head coach of St. Pauli, has formally apologized for his comments made after his team's stressful league loss on Saturday. St. Pauli, who were leading Freiburg 1-0, ultimately lost 1-2 after two late goals from former striker Igor Matanovic. The result was a significant blow to St. Pauli's hopes of avoiding the promotion-relegation playoff.

Blessin's initial reaction to the media was critical of the officiating, stating his team played against "12 men" and found the referee's demeanor disrespectful. However, in a subsequent press conference, Blessin took responsibility for the loss, acknowledging that his team could have defended better. He admitted his post-match interview statements were driven by emotion and were not smart, accepting his yellow card and retracting his excuses.