Ref’s error casts pall on Bundesliga race; no help from VAR

Ref’s error casts pall on Bundesliga race; no help from VAR

Bayern Munich took the lead from Borussia Dortmund with four rounds left in the Bundesliga after a refereeing error.

Dortmund drew 1-1 with Bochum on Friday night, a result that could affect the title race. The video assistance referee did not give a penalty.

The German soccer organization said Saturday that referee Sascha Stegemann should have delivered the penalty “without the need for support from the video assistant.” However, it did not say why there was no support from the video assistant.

In the 65th minute, Bochum’s Danilo Soares ran into Karim Adeyemi from behind and knocked him down without touching the ball. Stegemann missed the foul. Soares already had a yellow card and might have been sent off.

Dortmund coach Edin Terzic said, “We would probably go in front and you’re playing against 10 men, it’s a whole other game.

Stegemann continued play without direction from video assistance Robert Hartmann. The video assistant alerts the referee of any obvious error, and video replays can be used to verify. Hartmann obviously thought Adeyemi’s alleged foul wasn’t a mistake.