Top referee Deniz Aytekin is out for an indefinite period. He already missed the start of the season.
Will not be able to referee any games for the time being: Deniz Aytekin. IMAGO/Moritz Müller
Deniz Aytekin will not be able to referee any games for the time being. As the referee announced on Tuesday evening, he is being held back by an Achilles tendon irritation. “I prepared intensively for the new season, but things turned out differently than expected,” wrote the 46-year-old on his social media accounts. In addition to the Achilles tendon injury, he was also plagued by metabolic problems in preparation for the new season.
Due to health problems, Aytekin missed the start of the new season and did not referee any matches in German professional football on the first match days. He had already announced that his international career would end in 2022. His comeback has now been postponed indefinitely.
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“The time out of action cannot be reliably predicted with an injury like this,” the DFB said. Aytekin, like his equally injured colleagues Patrick Ittrich and Frank Willenborg, will be given the time he needs to make a comeback. “Let’s stay strong by allowing ourselves to be weak sometimes,” Aytekin himself wrote.
Surgery on the Achilles tendon already in 2020
Aytekin had already undergone surgery on his Achilles tendon in 2020 and was out for months. He later explained that in the phase before the operation he had considered ending his career because he had taken painkillers for every game.
The 46-year-old was named referee of the year by the DFB in August for the third time after 2019 and 2022. So far, he has refereed 236 games in the Bundesliga. His last game was the dramatic relegation second leg between Fortuna Düsseldorf and VfL Bochum. There he earned a kicker rating of 1.5.
