Back to match day 27. On February 12, Eupen received AA Gent at Kehrweg. Around the hour, sniper Smail Prevljak made it 1-1 by cleverly aiming a free kick into the goal, but the prior pushing error in the wall was immediately noticed by referee Lawrence Visser. He disallows the goal.
Ghent wins the match with the smallest difference. Not to Eupen’s liking, as it turns out. The club filed a complaint with the Referee Department for disallowing the equaliser, but got it wrong.
The Referee Department confirms the complaint to us, but “for us there has been no violation of the Laws themselves,” said Referee Chief Stephanie Forde. Referee Visser therefore made no mistake and the match should not be replayed.
Case closed you would think. The Referee Department confirms what every neutral fan sees: a clear push mistake by Müsel on Hjulsager in the wall.
At Eupen they do not agree. The club will appeal to the football association. It is questionable whether they have any chance there, but it is yet another case of a club seeking refuge in a procedural battle.
Two days after the match, the stage in Eupen was discussed in Extra Time. “It’s just not smart that you try,” said Gert Verheyen.
“Because according to the rules you have to keep a meter away from the opponent’s wall. You can’t stand against it anymore. The players should know that.”
Funny images of Gert Verheyen from our archive prove that players used to be allowed to stand in the opponent’s wall.
