A late penalty denies VfL Bochum victory against Augsburg. Referee Patrick Ittrich explains the decisive scene.

The fourth home win of the season was already in the air, but in the end VfL Bochum had to settle for a 1-1 draw against FC Augsburg despite leading until stoppage time.

After a shot by Arne Meier, central defender Ivan Ordets had the ball bounce off his arm in his own penalty area. Referee Patrick Ittrich initially allowed play to continue, but looked at the scene again after a tip-off from the video assistant – and corrected his decision.

Augsburg took the subsequent penalty to equalize. And the next day, Ittrich used his X account as a platform to create “some transparency in a key scene”, as he wrote in the introduction to his post. “The player had a clear view of the ball, crouches down and holds his arm at a 90-degree angle above his thigh, preventing the shot,” Ittrich explained. This is an unnatural enlargement of the body area, “perhaps also a reflex, which then gives rise to the criterion of intent. It is therefore a punishable handball and a penalty kick”.

The 45-year-old also emphasized that it was impossible to recognize the handball from his position. “That’s what the VAR is for.” However, Bochum, who conceded a penalty for the eighth time this season, did not even question the referee’s decision after the match

VfL were more annoyed by their own missed chances. The hosts had several opportunities to pull 2:0 ahead after Moritz Broschinski took the lead with an overhead kick (35′). However, Moritz Broni-Kwarteng and Matus Bero missed top chances. “We should have decided the game with those two moments,” said coach Thomas Letsch after the final whistle. Instead, the squandered chances took their revenge: Patrick Ittrich’s justified penalty