Union Berlin’s official appeal of Bochum result contains petition for replay | OneFootball

A promised appeal to the Permanent Court of Arbitration for Clubs and Corporations of Licensed Leagues from Bundesliga outfit Union Berlin contains a petition to replay a disputed December league fixture against Bochum. A German federal court officially awarded Bochum three points administratively in a decision handed down on Friday.

Union Berlin’s official appeal formally requests that either the 1-1 result of the December 14th encounter be allowed to stand or a full replay at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei in Köpenick be organised. The official brief cites precedent that, if a referee incorrectly stops a match or a team is weakened by external circumstances, the match must be played again.

There are, in fact, contradicting precedents in such cases. For example, when a matchday 27 encounter during the 2021/22 Bundesliga season between Bochum and Borussia Mönchengladbach was suspended after a Bochum fan hit refereeing assistant Christian Gittelmann with a beer mug, Gladbach were awarded a 2-0 victory. Bochum did not protest.

The case was nevertheless different. Gladbach were leading 2-0 in the 69th minute when the incident occurred. The Union-Bochum entered the 90th minute when Bochum keeper Patrick Drewes was hit by a flare thrown from the stands. The match was completed after a delay with the 1-1 scoreline still standing.

In any event, Union released an additional statement Saturday afternoon explaining their appeal. In the view of the capital city club, the German Federal court’s decision aimed to curtail the use of pyrotechnics instead of focusing on setting sporting precedents.

Union promised that, even if they do lose their final appeal, civil litigation will be considered. A lengthy statement, signed by FCU President Dirk Zingler, slammed Bochum for pursing the matter.

“Bochum seeks to gain a partisan sporting advantage from a situation that was equally burdensome for both teams,” the statement begins. “They are ignoring the facts and the proper discretion of the referee, re-scoring the game contrary to the actual sporting outcome.

“For football, this decision by the DFB sports court is fatal,” the statement continues. “Instead of protecting the sporting competition and the clubs, for the first time in German football, a sporting result has been re-evaluated to punish the misconduct of a spectator.

“Due to the fundamental importance for the integrity of the competition and thus for the protection of our club, we will also examine the possibility of taking civil action in parallel,” the statement concludes. “This dangerous development for football must be stopped.“

GGFN | Peter Weis