Overview

• Holstein Kiel coach Marcel Rapp urged scrapping the rule and proposed a voluntary post-match discussion moderated by the fourth official, calling the current meeting awkward and content-light.
• The regulation requires referees, both head coaches and the team captains to gather in the referees’ dressing room exactly 70 minutes before kickoff.
• BDFL president Benno Möhlmann defended the measure as a way to foster respect and clarify expectations or past incidents, citing positive examples from England and Belgium.
• Köln’s Lukas Kwasniok labeled the practice “Kokolores,” Rostock’s Daniel Brinkmann said it disrupts match-day routines, and Toni Kroos argued it has no real effect and interrupts captain preparation; Heidenheim’s Frank Schmidt also questioned its value.
• SC Freiburg’s Julian Schuster pointed to benefits of a calm first encounter, and the rule remains in force with no immediate changes announced pending the planned mid-season review.