Cologne coach Steffen Baumgart has confirmed that the upper salary limit for the Bundesliga soccer club is an annual salary of two million euros.

"I always find the number interesting, but I'll say it's true," said the 51-year-old in the ZDF sports studio. The salary limit therefore applies not only to players, but also to the coach of FC. He also has a 2-million mark, Baumgart explained with a smile.

"We got the structure on the right track," the former striker said of the structures at the club. It's about finding and developing the right players for FC. This has been achieved in the past year and a half. "We are in a position to stabilize FC in the Bundesliga," explained Baumgart, who also indicated that his current contract is valid until 2024. Recently there was speculation that the club had already extended the coach's working paper by another year.

video evidence

For Baumgart, it also remains a mystery as to when video evidence will be used in the Bundesliga and when not. "No one reacts in the stadium - except for the basement," said the FC coach in the ZDF sports studio about the controversial handball scene in the game between Hertha BSC and Mainz 05. In Berlin, it was only after a hint from the VAR hand penalty for the Berliners given.

There are too many situations where you don't know why the VAR intervenes, said Baumgart. "I think we're the only team sport that always lives in these gray areas." And there are too many gray areas that can no longer be explained.

ZDF referee expert Manuel Graefe said: "Handball is one of the most complicated things on the field, difficult to see, but Steffen rightly described it: the line is missing." That's what makes it so unpredictable.