How much the end gnawed at the 41-year-old, who had led Saarbrücken as the first fourth division team to the cup semifinals in 2020, was shown by his direct path to referee Daniel Schlager after the final whistle. “The anger hasn’t gone away yet,” said Kwasniok about an hour after the game. His frustration was that in the previous round against Werder Bremen, a corner kick for Paderborn was no longer allowed to be taken in regular time. This time it was, even though the three minutes of stoppage time indicated had already been exceeded by more than a minute. Stuttgart’s winning goal was promptly scored. “I know Daniel Schlager very well. We come from the same region,” Kwasniok said of the referee. And added with a smile: “He whistled for me in the district league. I don’t know, but maybe there’s still something open.”
