Chaos on the sidelines: In the game against Freiburg, FC Bayern made a strange substitution mistake
Quelle: Getty Images/Matthias Hangst
In the Bundesliga game against SC Freiburg, FC Bayern made a mistake when switching. For a short time, 12 professionals are on the pitch. Now the people of Freiburg have lodged a protest. In the justification, the club formulates remarkably cautiously.
Dhe SC Freiburg lodges a protest against the rating of the leader’s 4-1 (0-0) away win after FC Bayern made a mistake. The club announced on Monday that they were in a dilemma through no fault of their own. You have neither a share nor an influence on the events surrounding the change process, but are formally in the active role of having the processes legally checked.
“Nevertheless, after intensive discussions at various levels and a legal examination, the board of directors of Sport-Club Freiburg eV decided to appeal against the rating of the game,” the association said in a statement.
Now the sports court of the German Football Association has to deal with the case. The DFB announced that this would first obtain comments from those involved in the procedure.
After the comments have been received and evaluated, the committee will decide on the further course of the process. If Freiburg had waived an objection, the DFB would not have intervened.
12 Bayern players on the pitch
Bayern had twelve players on the field for a few seconds on Saturday before referee Christian Dingert stopped the game when the score was 3-1. The wrong shirt number had previously been displayed when Kingsley Coman was substituted.
Nico Schlotterbeck (r.) draws referee Christian Dingert’s attention to the mistake made by the Bavarians
Source: AFP/THOMAS KIENZLE
The Frenchman probably didn’t feel addressed and initially didn’t leave the field after a double substitution. In this phase, however, there were no game-changing scenes. Dingert recorded the events in the match report.
As a result, Bayern, who are still well on the way to their tenth championship in a row, have a six-point lead over pursuers Borussia Dortmund until the incident is resolved. Depending on the decision, Freiburg could underpin the European Cup ambitions.
Lawyers rule out consequences
If those responsible in Freiburg had not lodged a protest, there would probably have been no legal repercussions. “There is no legal relationship between the club and its fans on the basis of which the fan could claim damages or other legal claims against those responsible on the grounds that the club did not do everything possible to concede three points at the green table. I think that’s out of the question,” explained Fabian Reinholz, partner at the law firm Härting Rechtsanwälte, on Monday to the German Press Agency.
The situation between the club and sponsors is similar, said Reinholz. “Even from the contracts with the sponsors, the sponsors should not be entitled to compensation if the club decides against an objection. The sponsor gets an advertising space and pays for it. Regardless of whether the club receives three points less or more. It is a purely sporting decision of the club whether to take legal action or not. The people of Freiburg are not responsible,” says Reinholz. He also considers the possible fact of infidelity on the part of the management to be impossible.
