Ref’s error casts pall on Bundesliga race; no assist from VAR

BERLIN — A refereeing error has turn out to be the main target of consideration within the Bundesliga after it helped Bayern Munich regain the lead from Borussia Dortmund with 4 rounds of the league remaining.

The video assistant referee didn’t intervene to award a penalty in Dortmund’s sport on Friday because the crew was held to a 1-1 draw with Bochum on Friday night time, a end result that would have a serious affect on the title race.

The German soccer federation acknowledged Saturday that referee Sascha Stegemann ought to have given the penalty “without the need for support from the video assistant.” However, it didn’t say why there was no assist from the video assistant.

Stegemann failed to identify the foul within the space within the sixty fifth minute when Bochum’s Danilo Soares plowed into Karim Adeyemi from behind and introduced the Dortmund ahead down with out touching the ball. Soares was already booked and will have been despatched off with a second yellow card.

“We would probably go in front and you’re playing against 10 men, it’s a whole other game,” Dortmund coach Edin Terzic stated.

But Stegemann allowed play to proceed and acquired no indication from video assistant Robert Hartmann that he ought to do in any other case. The video assistant is there to tell a referee of any clear mistake, and video replays can then be used to recheck the incident. But Hartmann apparently felt the potential foul on Adeyemi wasn’t a transparent mistake.

The federation disagreed.

“It’s a foul and therefore a penalty, as the TV pictures also show. The expectation has to remain that such events are decided correctly by the referee on the field,” the federation stated.

The resolution was certainly one of three that Dortmund complained about because it slipped to a draw that allowed Bayern to retake the lead on Sunday.

Stegemann, who acknowledged “several mistakes” among the many match officers and stated he might perceive Dortmund’s anger, instructed broadcaster Sport1 that threats have been made in opposition to him and his household. It led him to file a felony criticism and search momentary safety measures.

The referee stated he is considering “whether a break makes sense or whether it’s better to continue straightaway.”

Dortmund chief govt Hans-Joachim Watzke condemned these threats on Sunday.

“Dear soccer fans, of course we are all still very disappointed with how Friday night went,” Watzke stated in a press release revealed on the membership web site. “We discussed our point of view with the referee immediately after the game, and he assured us then how sorry he was. With that, the matter is closed for us.”

There was no touch upon the matter from Bayern, which holds a one-point lead because it bids to win a record-extending eleventh consecutive league title.

Dortmund should now hope for a favor from Werder Bremen, Schalke, Leipzig or Cologne whether it is to finish the Bavarian powerhouse’s 10-year reign – whereas additionally successful its personal remaining video games in opposition to in-form Wolfsburg, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Augsburg and Mainz.