“Reacted carefully”
Referee expert classifies scandal in Berlin
Updated 12/15/2024 – 1:40 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Bochum’s goalkeeper is hit in the head by a lighter. Now there is a heated debate – new game schedule or advantage for VfL?
DFB referee instructor Lutz Wagner praised the behavior of referee Martin Petersen in Union Berlin’s scandalous game against VfL Bochum (1:1). The game on Friday evening in the Bundesliga was interrupted for a long time because Bochum goalkeeper Patrick Drewes was hit in the head by a lighter. This was thrown out of the home team’s spectator area.
“Martin Petersen did really well because he reacted very foresightedly and carefully,” said former referee Wagner in Sport1’s “One-two”. t-online columnist and TV expert Stefan Effenberg confirmed: “I’m on Lutz Wagner’s side. The fact that there was this non-aggression pact was also a right decision.” Effenberg was referring to the decision of both teams not to play football after kick-off and to just wait for the final whistle.
The game only continued after more than 25 minutes in the An der Alten Försterei stadium and ended 1-1. The visiting players only returned to the field in protest. Effenberg is now excited to see “what happens before the sports court. I would advocate for a new game,” said the 56-year-old.
The Bochum team want to lodge an objection against the rating of the game on Monday. This must be submitted in writing within two days with reasons. The sports court decides in the first instance and if the game is replayed, the game would be played at the same location.
A possible reason for an objection, which is listed in the legal and procedural rules of the German Football Association (DFB), is the “weakening of one’s own team due to a circumstance that occurred during the game”. This must have been unavoidable and must not be related to the game and an injury sustained during it.
Keeper Drewes was unable to continue playing in Berlin and was replaced by striker Philipp Hofmann for the remaining minutes because the Bochum team could no longer make a substitution. Bochum’s managing director Ilja Kaenzig assumes that the game will subsequently be counted for VfL, “if you interpret the rules,” he said.