Adnan Ouedraogo
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Phantom Goal could cause new discussion about Goal Line Technology in international Football
Bayer Leverkusen leaves the Rhein-Neckar Arena in Hoffenheim with a 1-2 victory over the home side, after a header from Stefan Kiessling went through the side net. A "scandal" that allowed Bayer to be on top of the "Bundesliga" from Friday until Saturday afternoon. DFB passes the responsibility on to FIFA.
In a match, which had not yet been decided (0:1 until that point) , Leverkusen had been given a clear advantage, when Stefan Kiessling headed a ball through the side of the net in the 70th minute. Interestingly, neither the Leverkusen players, nor the Hoffenheim players complained about the wrong decision. After requesting Kiessling once more, referee Brych confirmed the goal.
There is only one precedent of this kind of decision in Bundesliga history. In 1994 Thomas Helmer hit the side of the net, which was taken into account as a goal by the referee and securing Bayern Munich a 2-1 victory over Nuernberg. The DFB decided that the match has to be replayed, with the re-match ending in a 5-0 victory for Bayern.
"Why would a game with Bayern Munich be replayed, but not one for Hoffenheim?"
Markus Gisdol (Hoffenheim coach)
Hoffenheim has challenged the decision, handing-in there official complaint to the "DFB" on the Saturday right after the match. Hoffenheim officials are convinced that the match is going to be replayed: "Why should a Bayern Munich game be replayed, but not one for Hoffenheim?"
My Opinion
Especially the fact that the DFB passes on the decision-making to the FIFA, could be a forecast towards goal line technology being implied worldwide soon. Since the FIFA did not support the idea of replaying the 1994 Bayern - Nuernberg match, which led the biggest national governing body in Football and its international governing body close to an outfall, the DFB is more willing to keep their decision making cooperation with FIFA in this case. While FIFA and the English FA are supporters of the goal line technology the UEFA and the DFB are rather hesitant towards its implementation. However, the current case definitely lead to a new boost of the discussion of goal line technology in the German media, possibly leading to another top-league implementing the technology. As soon as other top leagues implement the technology, the pressure on the UEFA will get bigger and it will eventually become common practice in the Champions League and in the Euro.
The loser in this whole discussion will most likely be Hoffenheim, since the goal is a given decision according to FIFA statutes, the game will most likely not be replayed. A horrible imagination considering that Leverkusen, is still in the race for the championship in this "Bundesliga" season.