There was a confusing moment when Bayern Munich won 4-1 over Freiburg in Week 28 of the Bundesliga. This was because Die Roten had time to field 12 players on the field, albeit briefly.
The situation occurred in the 85th minute, when Bayern was leading 3-1. They brought on Niklas Suele and Marcel Sabitzer to replace Kingsley Coman and Corentin Tolisso, but only the latter left the field.
The BBC reported that Coman did not realize he had been substituted, as the fourth official had put the wrong number on the number plate. As a result, Bayern had lowered 12 players, although only for 17 seconds.
The Freiburg camp who realized this immediately protested to the match officials. The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) immediately reported this condition. As a result, the game was delayed a few minutes due to confusion.
The referee then resumed the match, giving eight minutes of added time. Bayern was able to add one goal through Sabitzer kick, locking the victory 4-1.
Despite winning three points, Bayern’s victory could have been canceled. The rules of the German League regarding this situation did allow this to happen, even though the conditions on the field didn’t matter much at the time (only 17 seconds long, Bayern were already 3-1 ahead).
However, Freiburg also had to submit an official complaint to the German Football Federation (DFB) if they objected. Referee Christian Dingert who officiated the match said “the decision as to what happens rests with the DFB.”
Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann said his team had not violated the rules. What happened was just a miscommunication error, not an intentional one.
“The fourth official showed the wrong number. Kingsley Coman didn’t know he was substituted. Mistakes happen,” said Nagelsmann. “From a sporting point of view, no one said the match was unfair,” explained the 34-year-old coach.
(adp/raw)
