Will Bayern Munich be punished for playing 12 players for a few seconds in the 4-1 win at Freiburg? It is the question that has become the talk of the German sports street, following the error that occurred in the change plate number, which may cause the German League officials to turn the result in favor of the loser.
The problem occurred in the 86th minute, when Corentin Tolisso and Kingsley Koeman took part in Marcel Zabitzer and Niklas Zule, in place of Corentin Tolisso and Kingsley Coman; But the fourth official miscalculated Koeman’s number, and the French winger continued the match for several seconds, according to the defending champion and match referee Christian Dingert, before correcting the matter.
“The problem came from the refereeing staff because of an error in the change board,” said Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann. “The fourth referee announced a wrong number. Kingsley didn’t know he had to get out. It lasted for 9 or 8 seconds. It was not an event that changed the course of the match; But it was a little strange.” He added: “It is normal for the masses to discuss what happened. I don’t know who is to blame. But I will not blame anyone and will leave it to you. I am happy that we won.”
For its part, the Freiburg team has not yet decided its position on the progress of a protest; But a statement from the club indicated that club officials “are looking into the matter and will announce their decision if they find it necessary to complain.” Freiburg has until this evening (Monday) to lodge its protest, and if he does not do so, the German Football Association will not take any measures. Bayern were 3-1 ahead of the match when the incident occurred.
Freiburg coach Christian Streich said he did not expect his club to lodge a protest. “I expect that we will not protest. We are bound by these rules, and that is all I will say.”
It is not yet clear what consequences Bayern may face. Referee Dingert indicated that he wrote the incident in his report, and said: “The wrong number was displayed, so Koeman did not feel that it was being referred to. While clarifying the situation between the team and the referee, the player’s removal was neglected. This is very annoying. We stopped the match and it took a little longer to clear it up, which is why we were given 8 minutes of overtime. We wrote in the match report that this is what happened.” He added, “In 16 seconds (played by Koeman) not much has happened, and it is now up to the German Football Association.”
Lutz Michael Froelich, chair of the refereeing committee, confirmed his pledge with his committee to study what happened in the “chain of unfortunate circumstances”, and said: “There will always be mistakes. These are people, we are discussing this calmly with the referee and his staff.”
Video Assistant Referee Felix Tzafer also spoke, saying: “The refereeing staff was responsible for making the substitutions correctly. I don’t expect penalties for Bayern if Freiburg objects. The German Football Association seems to be treating the incident as a mistake, not a violation of the rules.”
It seems that there is no previous incident in the league, as happened in previous incidents for the teams, whether by pushing more foreign players following the substitutions, or making too many substitutions. In both cases, it is declared that the guilty team will lose the match if it ends with a win or a tie.
But in any case, Bayern is moving confidently towards retaining the German title; Especially following his chaser, Borussia Dortmund, lost at home and in the midst of his fans once morest Leipzig 1-4.
Bayern Munich can win the tenth title in a row, on April 23, when it faces Dortmund; In an unprecedented achievement in the five major European leagues, which includes with Germany: England, Spain, Italy and France.
Bayern Munich is currently shifting its focus towards the Champions League; He will play the first leg of the quarter-final once morest Villarreal, next Wednesday. But as much as Nagelsmann welcomed Goretzka’s return, he indicated that the player will not be used excessively, and the match may not start in Spain. “The main idea is not to chase him every three days on the field,” Nagelsmann said. But I’m glad we have one more alternative with him.”