No penalty for Adeyemi – ex-referee Gräfe has an explanation for Stegemann’s decision. The DFB admits a clear mistake.

The anger of Borussia Dortmund’s officials, players and fans after the 1-1 draw at VfL Bochum is huge: referee Sascha Stegemann stole a penalty and thus two points from BVB by not giving a penalty after Bochum’s Danilo Soares took on Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi, according to the unanimous opinion in the black and yellow camp.

Thus, BVB experienced a setback in the race for the championship, coach Edin Terzic and sports director Sebastian Kehl (“Cowardly and wrong”) raged after the final whistle. Former top referee Manuel Gräfe showed understanding for BVB’s frustration, but also put his finger in the wound and analyzed the falling addiction of the Dortmund national striker.

“If you want to flay a penalty in two games last (Adeyemi), referees also become more careful,” wrote Manuel Gräfe on Twitter. BVB attacker Karim Adeyemi had been cleared penalty-worthy by Danilo Soares in the 65th minute, but had also changed his running path and sought contact with the Bochum defender.

Gräfe lays down, there should have been penalty kick, also says about the failed whistle of Sascha Stegemann: “That’s probably the cause, because he again wants to pull the penalty (foot actively out), but he is just also one, because the Bochumer acts even more clumsy and actually hits. “

The sporting management of the DFB referees also sees it that way. In a statement on Saturday after BVB’s draw in Bochum, it said, “The defender jumps sideways from behind with both legs into a duel for the ball. He does not play the ball, but instead hits the opponent exclusively and brings him down. This is a foul and therefore a penalty kick, as evidenced by the TV pictures. The expectation must remain that such events are correctly decided by the referee on the pitch, without the need for assistance from the video assistant.”

BVB star Adeyemi has been noticed more often for swallows

So is Karim Adeyemi a victim of his own swallows from recent weeks? Gräfe refers to BVB games in recent weeks, when Adeyemi had fallen in the penalty area in the wins against Union Berlin (2-1) and Eintracht Frankfurt (4-0), but instead of penalties had received yellow cards from the referees in each case. A delicate situation that requires special tact from the referees, finds Manuel Gräfe. “As a referee, you have to be prepared, but you must not be biased.”

However, the long-time Bundesliga referee also takes Sascha Stegemann to task and criticizes the DFB for this, saying that Stegemann should not have been called on again for a Dortmund game after the incidents at the Frankfurt game (Adeyemi’s swallow plus a foul by the same player on Frankfurt’s Jesper Lindström, which was also wrongly not punished with a penalty kick). Manuel Gräfe calls this “irresponsible” from the DFB, “it’s Murphy’s Law that Adeyemi of all people – then the cause of a missing penalty after his shove – now gets none.” The BVB will be even more upset