German FA admits refereeing mistake in Augsburg-Kiel Bundesliga fixture | OneFootball

Augsburg’s persistent problems with refereeing decisions this season cropped once again in a Sunday Bundesliga fixture against Holstein Kiel. A scene that ended up swinging the match occurred in the 24th minute of Augsburg’s home fixture against Kiel. The visiting side were awarded a penalty when FCA defender Christian Matsima tackled Alexander Bernhardsson in the box.

Match official Harm Osmers awarded a penalty despite the fact that Matsima clearly played the ball. Even after taking a look at the replay via the on-pitch video screen, Osmers stuck with his decision based on the fact that Matsima’s follow through appeared too malicious. On Monday, the German FA conceded that both Osmers and the VAR review team had erred.

Marco Fritz, the head of evaluation and rule interpretation at the DFB’s refereeing company Schiri GmbH explained the mistake in a statement. Both Osmers and VAR chief on the day Sven Jablonski were held accountable for allowing the decision to proceed. Augsburg never recovered from Kiel’s ability to take the lead from the penalty spot in the 25th.

“Although there was slight contact with the attacker’s right foot at that moment, we did not consider this to be the cause of Bernhardsson’s fall [to the turf],” Fritz – as quoted by Kicker said. “The focus of this action was on playing the ball, and the striker’s fall was the result of subsequent physical contact following the tackle. This was not a punishable offense and play should have been allowed to continue.“

Fritz also addressed Jablonski’s reasoning in the Kicker piece, noting that the experienced and well-regarded ref believed that Matsima’s tackle was aimed at “initiating contact with Matsima at high speed.” Some football watchers will, subjectively speaking, feel as if Matsima’s tackle from behind was too dangerous and that a penalty was merited.

GGFN | Peter Weis