2011–12 Hertha BSC season

On 18 December, Hertha BSC fired head coach Markus Babbel after a disagreement with Michael Preetz.[1] Preetz fired Babbel because there is no trust and so the club can "avert damage".[1][2] Babbel he told Preetz that he would not sign a contract extension during the November international break while Preetz claim Babbel told him on 13 December.[1] Babbel responded to Pretz's claim by stating tha "when someone has another opinion, then maybe he wasn't listening properly".[1] On 22 December, Michael Skibbe was named Babbel's replacement.[3] On 12 February, Hertha BSC fired Skibbe after losing all 5 matches in charge.[4]

Fortuna Düsseldorf won a spot in the promotion/relegation playoff against first division side Hertha BSC.[5]

Going into the playoff, Fortuna Düsseldorf hadn't been in the top flight for 15 seasons.[6] They won the first leg against Hertha BSC 1:2 in Berlin's Olympic Stadium from goals from Thomas Bröker and an own goal from Hertha BSC's Adrián Ramos.[6]

In the return leg in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, both teams drew 2-2.[5][7] Fortuna Düsseldorf won on aggregate 4-3.[5][7] However, the second half was marred by trouble. Hertha BSC supporter threw flares onto the field.[8] Hertha BSC supporters did this after Fortuna Düsseldorf scored their second goal of the night to lead 2–1. The other problem of the night was when several Fortuna Düsseldorf supporters ran onto the field with about a minute left.[5][8][9] It took 21 minutes to restore order[10] and stoppage time ended up being 28 minutes by the time the final whistle blew. With Fortuna Düsseldorf winning the 2 legged affair, they return to the Bundesliga after 15 seasons.[9]

Hertha BSC appealed the result of the match.[11][12] The German Football Association will be meeting on 18 May 2012 to discuss the incidents of the second leg.[11][12] Campino, singer for Die Toten Hosen, called Hertha BSC's protest "indecent".[13] The hearing at the German Football Association last for six hours.[14] The panel's decision will not be known until a further meeting on Monday.[14] It is expected to make a decision at 15:00 CET.[14] The German Football Association stated that any possible disciplinary action against either club or any of the players will be taken at a later date.[14] The players being investigated are Levan Kobiashvili, Christian Lell, Thomas Kraft and Andre Mijatović.[14] 2nd leg referee Wolfgang Stark was a key witness at the first hearing at the German Football Association.[14]

Sports law expert Michael Lehner said that Hertha BSC can hope for replay after the second leg of the promotion/relegation playoff.[15] Lehner went on to state, "Is not the game has been properly placed on the principle of equal opportunity at the end there was a break in terms of game development" and "The team of Hertha BSC through the fault of third parties a real opportunity has been deprived of the game even. get why there should be a replay from a legal point of view".[15]

The sports court of the German Football Association rejected the appeal of Hertha BSC.[16][17][18] Hertha BSC will pay the cost of the proceedings.[18] Hertha BSC appealed the decision of the German Football Association's sports court.[16][17][18] The sports German Football Association court president Hans Eberhard Lorenz stated, "The appeal was unsuccessful, because no ground of opposition was to prove the referee has traded at any time conform to the rules, and the alleged Hertha BSC-sided weakness due to the interruption could not be proven.." He also stated that "There was no Berlin players injured or assaulted or were needed to be replaced. Had this been the case, the objection would have been done."[17] The Federal Court of the German Football Association confirmed the Sports Court decision.[19] Hertha BSC can appeal the decision to the Sports Court for Arbitration.[19] After the final verdict, Hertha BSC players went on vacation while Fortuna Düsseldorf players were not immediately released for vacation.[20]

The disciplinary panel of the German Football Association decided that Fortuna Düsseldorf must play their first home match of next season with no fans for the fans running onto the field during the 2nd leg of the promotion/relegation playoff.[21] The club was also hit with a six figure fine.[21]

Another incident reported by Die Welt the next day was that Hertha BSC players attacked second leg referee Wolfgang Stark.[10] Stark pressed charges against an unknown player for assaulting him off the field.[14] Hertha BSC have apologized for the conduct of some of the club's players.[22] The four players are accused of verbally and physically harassing the referee.[17][18] The German Football Association (DFB) handed down suspensions for Levan Kobiashvili, who was banned for a year, Christian Lell, who was banned for six matches, Thomas Kraft, who was banned for five matches and Andre Mijatović, who was banned for four matches.[23] Kobiashvili's suspension was reduced to seven and a half months and Lell's ban was eventually reduced to 5 matches.[24][25]

  Win   Draw   Loss

Note: Results are given with Hertha BSC score listed first.

Game	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result F–A	Attendance	Hertha BSC Goalscorers
1	6 August 2011	Olympiastadion, Berlin	1. FC Nürnberg	0–1	61,118
2	13 August 2011	Imtech Arena, Hamburg	Hamburger SV	2–2	52,100	Torun  43', Mijatović  88'
3	21 August 2011	AWD-Arena, Hannover	Hannover 96	1–1	41,200	Lasogga  83'
4	26 August 2011	Olympiastadion, Berlin	VfB Stuttgart	1–0	52,232	Raffael  86'
5	10 September 2011	Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund	Borussia Dortmund	2–1	80,720	Raffael  50', Niemeyer  81'
6	17 September 2011	Olympiastadion, Berlin	FC Augsburg	2–2	48,385	Lell  46', Torun  57'
7	25 September 2011	Weserstadion, Bremen	Werder Bremen	1–2	40,760	Ramos  3'
8	1 October 2011	Olympiastadion, Berlin	1. FC Köln	3–0	59,491	Lasogga  14', 26' Raffael  34'
9	15 October 2011	Allianz Arena, Munich	Bayern Munich	0–4	69,000
10	22 October 2011	Olympiastadion, Berlin	Mainz 05	0–0	47,064
11	29 October 2011	Volkswagen Arena, Wolfsburg	VfL Wolfsburg	3–2	30,000	Raffael  27', Kobiashvili  37' (pen.), Lasogga  85'
12	5 November 2011	Olympiastadion, Berlin	Borussia Mönchengladbach	1–2	60,556	Ramos  17'
13	19 November 2011	badenova-Stadion, Freiburg	SC Freiburg	2–2	21,500	Ramos  20' Niemeyer  45'
14	26 November 2011	Olympiastadion, Berlin	Bayer Leverkusen	3–3	44,541	Lasogga  7', 82', Toprak  17' (o.g.)
15	3 December 2011	Fritz-Walter-Stadion, Kaiserslautern	1. FC Kaiserslautern	1–1	36,000	Raffael  14'
16	9 December 2011	Olympiasadion, Berlin	Schalke 04	1–2	52,382	Ramos  25'
17	17 December 2011	Rhein-Neckar-Arena, Sinsheim	1899 Hoffenheim	1–1	28,000	Hubník  90+1'
18	21 January 2012	easyCredit-Stadion, Nuremberg	1. FC Nürnberg	0–2	39,117
19	28 January 2012	Olympiastadion, Berlin	Hamburger SV	1–2	49,168	Lasogga  81'
20	4 February 2012	Olympiastadion, Berlin	Hannover 96	0–1	36,997
21	11 February 2012	Mercedes-Benz Arena, Stuttgart	VfB Stuttgart	0–5	45,000
22	18 February 2012	Olympiastadion, Berlin	Borussia Dortmund	0–1	74,244
23	25 February 2012	SGL arena, Augsburg	FC Augsburg	0–3	29,123
24	3 March 2012	Olympiastadion, Berlin	Werder Bremen	1–0	52,744	Rukavytsya  62'
25	10 March 2012	RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne	1. FC Köln	0–1	48,000
26	17 March 2012	Olympiastadion, Berlin	Bayern Munich	0–6	74,244
27	24 March 2012	Coface Arena, Mainz	Mainz 05	3–1	33,152	Ben-Hatira  41', Ramos  52', 69'
28	31 March 2012	Olympiastadion, Berlin	VfL Wolfsburg	1–4	46,388	Kobiashvili  13'
29	7 April 2012	Borussia Park, Mönchengladbach	Borussia Mönchengladbach	0–0	52,691
30	10 April 2012	Olympiastadion, Berlin	SC Freiburg	1–2	45,778	Hubník  81'
31	14 April 2012	BayArena, Leverkusen	Bayer Leverkusen	3–3	27,000	Lasogga  63', Torun  71', 77'
32	21 April 2012	Olympiastadion, Berlin	1. FC Kaiserslautern	1–2	51,461	Niemeyer  60'
33	28 April 2012	Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen	Schalke 04	0–4
34	5 May 2012	Olympiastadion, Berlin	1899 Hoffenheim	3–1	51,834	Ben-Hatira  14', 78', Raffael  90+2'

As 16th-placed team, Hertha BSC faces the 3rd-placed 2011–12 2. Bundesliga side in a two-legged play-off. The winner on aggregate score after both matches will earn a spot in the 2012–13 Bundesliga.

Dates and times of these matches were determined by the Deutsche Fußball-Liga as following:[26]

10 May 2012

20:30 CEST

Hertha BSC	1 – 2	Fortuna Düsseldorf
Hubník  19'	report	Bröker  64' Ramos  71' (o.g.)

Olympic Stadium, Berlin

Attendance: 68,041

Referee: Marco Fritz

15 May 2012

20:30 CEST

Fortuna Düsseldorf	2 – 2	Hertha BSC
Beister  1' Jovanović  59'	report	Ben-Hatira  23' Raffael  85'

Esprit Arena, Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia

Attendance: 51,000

Referee: Wolfgang Stark

Note: Results are given with Hertha BSC score listed first.

Game	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result F–A	Attendance	Hertha BSC Goalscorers
1	31 July 2011	bluechip-Arena, Meuselwitz	ZFC Meuselwitz	4–0	7,707	Ramos  22', 26' Ottl  49' Ebert  56'
2	26 October 2011	Georg-Melches-Stadion, Essen	Rot-Weiss Essen	3–0	14,000	Ramos  64', Lasogga  72', Rukavytsya  86'
3	21 December 2011	Olympiastadion, Berlin	1. FC Kaiserslautern	3–1	40,944	Ramos  44', Lasogga  56', Ebert  90+2'
4	8 February 2012	Olympiastadion, Berlin	Borussia Mönchengladbach	0–2 a.e.t.	47,465

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Bundesliga		DFB-Pokal		Relegation play-offs
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK		Maikel Aerts	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	DF		Christian Lell	32	1	28	1	2	0	2	0
3	DF		Levan Kobiashvili	36	2	31	2	3	0	2	0
4	DF		Roman Hubník	32	2	27	1	3	0	2	1
5	DF		Andre Mijatović	24	1	21	1	2	0	1	0
6	DF		Christoph Janker	23	0	18	0	3	0	2	0
7	DF		Maik Franz	8	0	7	0	1	0	0	0
8	MF		Andreas Ottl	29	1	26	0	3	1	0	0
9	FW		Adrián Ramos	37	9	31	6	4	3	2	0
10	MF		Raffael	34	7	31	6	1	0	2	1
11	FW		Tunay Torun	23	4	20	4	2	0	1	0
12	MF		Ronny	16	0	10	0	4	0	2	0
13	MF		Nikita Rukavytsya	26	2	24	1	1	1	1	0
14	DF		Sebastian Neumann	3	0	2	0	1	0	0	0
17	MF		Änis Ben-Hatira	21	4	17	3	2	0	2	1
18	MF		Peter Niemeyer	37	3	31	3	4	0	2	0
19	FW		Pierre-Michel Lasogga	35	10	31	8	4	2	0	0
20	MF		Patrick Ebert	33	2	27	0	4	2	2	0
21	GK		Sascha Burchert	4	0	2	0	2	0	0	0
22	DF		Felix Bastians	15	0	13	0	1	0	1	0
23	MF		Fanol Perdedaj	8	0	7	0	0	0	1	0
24	DF		John Brooks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
25	FW		Marco Djuricin	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
26	MF		Nico Schulz	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
27	DF		Alfredo Morales	10	0	8	0	2	0	0	0
28	MF		Fabian Lustenberger	15	0	12	0	3	0	0	0
32	MF		Fabian Holland	3	0	2	0	0	0	1	0
33	FW		Abu-Bakarr Kargbo	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
35	GK		Thomas Kraft	38	0	34	0	2	0	2	0

Last updated:25 May 2012

Disciplinary records for 2011–12 league matches. Players with 1 card or more included only.

Last updated on 5 May 2012

No.	Nat.	Player
02		Christian Lell	11	1	0
03		Levan Kobiashvili	6	1	1
04		Roman Hubník	4	0	0
05		Andre Mijatović	7	0	0
07		Maik Franz	3	0	0
08		Andreas Ottl	3	0	1
09		Adrián Ramos	4	1	0
10		Raffael	4	0	1
11		Tunay Torun	3	0	0
14		Sebastian Neumann	2	1	0
17		Änis Ben-Hatira	2	0	0
18		Peter Niemeyer	7	1	0
19		Pierre-Michel Lasogga	4	0	0
20		Patrick Ebert	6	0	0
23		Fanol Perdedaj	2	0	0
27		Alfredo Morales	3	0	0
35		Thomas Kraft	3	0	0