With twelve men against Freiburg
Will changing mistakes be expensive for Bayern?
4/2/2022, 6:21 p.m
FC Bayern has to work a long time before the clear victory against SC Freiburg is certain in the end. But the game goes into overtime, at least in the discussions: the record champions have one player too many on the field for a few seconds.
FC Bayern have to work hard for the 4-1 win at SC Freiburg. It’s 0-0 at half-time, the opening goal by Leon Goretzka is countered by Freiburg’s Nils Petersen with the equaliser. It only becomes clear in the final quarter of an hour. But the clear victory could have an aftermath that could be uncomfortable for Bayern. Because in the goal-rich final phase, coach Julian Nagelsmann obviously makes a mistake: when the score is 3-1, twelve FC Bayern players are on the pitch for around 20 seconds at the same time – and one too many.
The 86th minute was running when Nagelsmann made a substitution: Niklas Süle replaced Dayot Upamecano, and Kingsley Coman was to make way for Marcel Sabitzer, who went on to score. But the Frenchman wasn’t off when referee Christian Dingert gave play back – and he touched the ball again before rushing off. The hosts quickly recognized the situation: “I noticed that Niki came in and no one went out,” SC defender Nico Schlotterbeck told Sky TV. He “saw it and let the referee know. If I don’t do it, he probably won’t see it at all.”
The result was an excited uproar and much confusion surrounding the Fourth Official and minutes of discussion. Finally, after consulting with his assistants, Dingert continued play with a dropped ball. As the TV pictures proved without a doubt, FC Bayern had one player too many on the pitch. A rule violation.
Dietmar Hamann, former national player and now an expert for Sky, demanded vehemently: “This is a violation of the rules and it must be punished,” Hamann clarified. “It doesn’t matter to me how long it was or whether they scored a goal during that time. The DFB sports court has to decide that now, but there’s no question that it has to be punished.” According to referee Dingert, the confusion apparently came from Kathleen Krüger: The FC Bayern team manager gave Coman’s old shirt number – instead of “11” it was “29”. “It was a confused situation. It was a double change and the wrong number was displayed. Coman didn’t feel addressed,” Dingert told Sky. “We then noticed it relatively quickly, consulted Cologne and then continued the game with the referee’s ball,” said referee Dingert. It is “very annoying that this one scene gets stuck in such a great game.”
First “boil down”, then “think about it”
According to the rules of the German Football Association, consequences for the game rating are unlikely. “If a team official, a substitute, a player who has been substituted or sent off or a third person enters the field of play,” the referee only has to stop the game if that person interferes with the game. In addition, the referee must “reject the person from the field after the game has been interrupted” and take appropriate disciplinary measures.
ntv.de referee expert Alex Feuerherdt (“Collinas Erben”) made it clear on Sky that he does not expect serious consequences for the leaders of the table: “If there had been a goal for Bayern in that time, it should not have counted. But that didn’t happen, so I don’t expect there to be any further consequences.” Since no goal was scored in the short period of Bayern’s majority, the event had no influence on the outcome of the game. The only possibility would have been a yellow card for Kingsley Coman, who had not left the lawn in time.
Freiburg coach Christian Streich analyzed the incident very calmly: “I firmly assume that we don’t have to lodge an objection, but that there are rules. We are subject to these rules and we act accordingly. That’s my understanding.”
In order for the DFB investigations to start, SC Freiburg would have to lodge a protest against the game rating. Freiburg’s sports director Jochen Saier didn’t make an overly outraged impression immediately after the game: “I don’t think it was that long,” said Saier, describing the situation as an “extremely bizarre scene that I haven’t experienced like this before so I can’t judge them.” He had to “take a look at everything again,” Saier said of a possible objection: “We all have to boil it down a bit and then think about it.” SC Freiburg has until Monday to formulate a protest.
Curious: referee Christian Dingert was already on duty when the most serious mistake made in recent German football history happened: In the first round of the DFB Cup, the then coach of VfL Wolfsburg made one too many changes in extra time against Preußen Münster. The Bundesliga club later lost the game on the green table, van Bommel his job a little later.