SC Freiburg files an appeal after Bayern’s substitution – this threatens the league leaders with the loss of three points. Will the championship be a bit exciting again? FC Bayern reacted to the action from Breisgau on Monday evening in the person of Oliver Kahn.
Freiburg is going to the sports court, the strange mistake in substitution has an aftermath – and the championship could become even more exciting: Bayern Munich is threatened with the deduction of three points after its embarrassing breakdown.
The people of Breisgau filed an objection to the rating of the game on Monday shortly before the deadline, and the sports court of the German Football Association (DFB) must now decide on the possible consequences.
SC Freiburg emphasized that they were in a “dilemma through no fault of their own”. The situation forces the club “into an active role” in which it has no interest. One motive for the objection is to create “legal certainty in comparable cases” for the future. In addition, it is about the “perception of overall responsibility for the club in economic as well as sporting terms.”
But the chances of success of the protest are uncertain. On the one hand, there is the surprising gray area in the rules.
FC Bayern expresses itself after Freiburg’s objection
Even experts were unsure whether the football rules of the DFB or the legal and procedural rules of the association should be applied in this case. The question remains whether the sports court blames the referee team around Christian Dingert or the Munich team. Referee instructor Wagner sees the responsibility at Dingert.
FC Bayern meanwhile believes in a positive outcome of the procedure. “We are not surprised that SC Freiburg has lodged an objection. The matter is now in the hands of the sports courts, which we fully trust,” said CEO Oliver Kahn on Monday evening in response to a request from the “German Press Agency”.
Points deducted for FC Bayern?
The chances of success are still manageable. “Normally, he or someone from his team would have had to make sure that the number of players was correct before the game continued. He didn’t do that and it’s a mistake by the referee,” said the 58-year-old in an interview with “Spox” and “Goal”. “FC Bayern is not responsible for the substitution process,” added Knut Kircher, who was used as a referee observer in Freiburg at “SWR”.
If a point were deducted, the record champions in the table would be “only” six points ahead of their closest rival, Borussia Dortmund, and the door to a real champion’s race would open a little again. If the points were awarded, Freiburg would catch up to RB Leipzig in fourth place in the Champions League.
In the 4-1 win, Munich played with twelve men for 16 seconds in the 86th minute after Kingsley Coman failed to leave the field in time in a double substitution. Bayern team manager Kathleen Krüger had previously held up a wrong jersey number. “The board is a support and therefore an aid. Something like this can always happen, and again: In the end, the referee is responsible,” said former referee Wagner.
“I don’t understand this objection”
In addition to the ambiguities in the rules and the question of guilt, there is also the fact that the majority had no influence on the final result. Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann said he didn’t see anything “decisive in the game”: “Mistakes happen. From the point of view of both teams and fair sport, there was nothing that spoke against a fair game.”
Freiburg coach Christian Streich was enraged that the SC had to become active itself for investigations by the sports court: “There are rules. We are subject to them and then we act,” said the 56-year-old: “I don’t understand this objection .”
In the moral dilemma between exhausting all legal options to increase the chances of winning the Champions League millions and the risk of being a bad loser, the SC decided to take legal action and the possible windfall. This makes Bayern’s changeover breakdown before the sports court a precedent.