1984–85 FDGB-Pokal


The 1984–85 FDGB-Pokal was the 34th East German Cup. For the second consecutive year, Dynamo Dresden beat Dynamo Berlin in the final, securing their sixth title.

First round

Round of 16

Home team Away team 1st leg2nd leg
BSG Wismut AueBerliner FC Dynamo3:10:2
BSG Sachsenring Zwickau1. FC Magdeburg1:10:1
Hansa RostockDynamo Dresden2:21:1
1. FC Lokomotive LeipzigVorwärts Frankfurt3:10:3
BSG Stahl RiesaBSG Chemie Leipzig0:00:1
BSG Chemie VeltenASG Vorwärts Stralsund2:21:3
Dynamo Dresden IIBerliner FC Dynamo II1:22:2
1. FC Magdeburg IIFC Rot-Weiß Erfurt1:30:2

Quarter-finals

Home team Away team 1st leg2nd leg
Dynamo DresdenBerliner FC Dynamo II1:22:1 aet, 5:3 pens.
Berliner FC DynamoASG Vorwärts Stralsund7:01:0
BSG Chemie Leipzig1. FC Magdeburg1:11:4
FC Rot-Weiß ErfurtVorwärts Frankfurt3:10:3

Semi-finals

Home team Away team 1st leg2nd leg
Dynamo DresdenVorwärts Frankfurt0:22:0 aet, 4:2 pens.
Berliner FC Dynamo1. FC Magdeburg3:42:0

Final

Controversies during the final

The standard of refereeing in East German football had become a bone of contention in the upper levels of the SED and the East German regime, and the cup final was played at a time when the disillusionment about the sucesss of BFC Dynamo stood at its peak.
The German Football Association of the GDR and the football weekly Die neue Fußballwoche received more than 700 complaints regarding the performance of the referees in the final. Harry Tisch was so upset about the performance of referee Manfred Roßner that he protested to Erich Mielke and complained that such performance underminded the credebility of the competition. With DFV functionaries, as well as Egon Krenz and other SED polititians, uneasy about the negative reactions, a special review of the final was conducted.
An eight person panel led by DFV President Günter Erbach examined the video recording of the cup final on 21 June 1985. The review found that 30 percent of the referee decisions were wrong, and that 80 percent of those had been of disadvantage to Dynamo Dresden. The referees had made 17 major mistakes during the final, of which 14 had been in favor of BFC Dynamo and 3 in favor of Dynamo Dresden. As an example, a regular goal from Ralf Minge was denied due to an alleged offside position. Referee Manfred Roßner was banned one year from officiating matches above second tier.