Felix Brych breaks referee appearance record

The Matchday 3 fixture between Borussia Mönchengladbach and Stuttgart saw referee Felix Brych replace Wolfgang Stark as the referee with the most appearances in the league.

Taking charge of VfB Stuttgart’s first win of the season against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Matchday 3, the game was Brych's 345th in the top flight, with his first coming all the way back in the 2004/05 season when he took charge of Hertha Berlin’s 1-1 draw at home to Jürgen Klopp’s Mainz.

The record-breaking appearance is well overdue, with Brych having been stuck on 344 appearances since last season.

Having now broken the record and a whole season ahead to add to it, Brych has put himself in the history books for the foreseeable future. - IMAGO/Maximilian Koch

The 49-year-old Munich native was unable to break the record sooner due to a cruciate ligament injury picked up in last season's clash between Eintracht Frankfurt and Stuttgart. Not only did Brych witness a Stuttgart win on both occasions, but a Deniz Undav goal too.

Outside of the Bundesliga, Brych has also taken charge of numerous cup finals. He oversaw both the 2014/15 (Borussia Dortmund vs Wolfsburg) and 2020/21 (RB Leipzig vs Borussia Dortmund) DFB Cup finals as well as the 2016/17 Champions League showpiece between Juventus and Real Madrid.

Upon the conclusion of his record-making appearance, the experienced referee kindly gave away his jersey to a young fan, who now owns a small piece of Bundesliga history.