The German Football Association (DFB) has overturned the result of Union Berlin’s 1-1 draw with Bochum in the Bundesliga and awarded Bochum a 2-0 victory.
The game, played at Union’s Stadion Alte Forsterei on December 14, was suspended in the second minute of stoppage time when Bochum goalkeeper Patrick Drewes was hit by a lighter thrown from the stands by an individual in the home section.
Drewes was struck on the head and was unable to continue the game. The referee ordered both sets of players to the dressing-room and the match was delayed for 28 minutes.
Bochum had already used all of their substitutes, forcing centre-forward Philipp Hofmann to take Drewes’ place in goal.
Initially, the visiting players did not want to resume the game, but returned to the pitch under protest, with both teams agreeing to play out the remainder of the match by passing the ball about without attempting to score.
(Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
Bochum appealed the result immediately after the game ended, citing a DFB law that nullifies results in the event of a team being put at a disadvantage as a result of an incident occurring during the game, unrelated to the match itself.
On Thursday, at a DFB Sports Court in Frankfurt, a 90-minute hearing was held. Witnesses from both teams and from the officiating team involved were called, after which the court ruled in Bochum’s favour, overturning the original result and awarding them a 2-0 victory and three Bundesliga points — their first away win of the season.
Stephan Oberholz, chairman of the DFB sports tribunal, said: “The circumstances left us little other option. The goalkeeper was limited by the injury, the doctor made the decision for him that Drewes should not continue playing. We have no sufficient evidence to suggest that this was a special performance or a conspiracy.”
Union, who have already identified the supporter responsible for throwing the lighter, have seven days to lodge their appeal.
“This verdict goes against our legal opinion that the game was properly ended after the referee’s decision with the 1-1 scoreline, and that there are no circumstances that could justify the DFB court’s changing of the result,” said Christian Arbeit, managing director of communications at Union. “We will decide on how to proceed once the written verdict has been submitted.”
The Bundesliga said all statistics from the game, including goals, assists and Bochum midfielder’s Koji Miyoshi sending off, will still stand.
Bochum will remain bottom of the Bundesliga despite being awarded the victory, moving them onto eight points.
(Top photo: Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
