SC Freiburg have until tonight to appeal against the match classification after FC Bayern’s substitution error. With what arguments? A look at the rules.
For a few seconds, FC Bayern played with twelve players in Freiburg on Saturday. On the pitch, the changeover mishap presumably contributed little to the 4:1 away victory of the league leaders. Will there still be a replay?
That depends on the Freiburg team, who have until Monday evening to appeal against the result of the match and have the DFB Sports Tribunal take action. Theoretically, the Sport-Club has two grounds for appeal.
Did Bayern commit a breach of the rules “culpably”?
In paragraph 17, subsection 4, the DFB’s Laws and Procedures stipulate: If a team has culpably used a player who is not entitled to play or field a player who is not entitled to play, the match shall be assessed as lost by 0:2 in the event of an appeal. What influence the “12th man” had on the outcome of the match would be irrelevant.
Also conceivable would be an appeal under Clause 17, Paragraph 2 c: “Breach of the rules by the referee.” Such an appeal is obvious. But: The violation of the rules would have to have influenced the outcome of the match “with a high degree of probability”. In this specific case, that seems relatively clearly absurd.
The deciding factor would therefore remain: Did Bayern commit a violation of the rules “culpably”? The fact that FCB team manager Kathleen Krüger displayed the wrong number – Kingsley Coman therefore felt he was not being addressed as a player to be substituted and remained on the pitch – is clearly Munich’s responsibility. But: blowing the whistle despite an illegal superior number is clearly a referee’s mistake.
DFB Football Law 3 states that substitutes “may only enter the pitch on the referee’s hand signal” and only when the substitute has “left the pitch”. An appeal by Freiburg would therefore have little chance of success, as the main fault is probably not to be found with Bayern, but with the referee team around Christian Dingert.
2013 Duisburg waived an appeal in a similar case
When the substituted BVB player Jannik Bandowski stayed on the pitch longer and even stopped an MSV attack in the third league match between MSV Duisburg and Borussia Dortmund II in 2013, the hosts nevertheless subsequently waived an appeal because Bandowski’s influence had been “not decisive”. The result was a 2-1 away win for BVB.
How Freiburg will behave eight and a half years later will soon be decided. On Monday, those responsible want to make a statement.