From a sporting perspective, MSV Duisburg could be satisfied with the 0-0 draw in Osnabrück. However, former referee Babak Rafati analyzed that MSV was disadvantaged in one scene.

VfL Osnabrück and MSV Duisburg played out a goalless draw in an intense top-of-the-table clash last Saturday. It was a hard-fought point for the Zebras at the Bremer Brücke, which they could live with given the course of the game.

In addition, MSV regained the lead in the 3rd league table, as their opponents Energie Cottbus lost 0-3 to TSV 1860 Munich. Both teams have 26 points after the 13th match day, with only a two-goal better goal difference currently making the difference in favor of Duisburg.

However, one scene in the 0-0 draw in Osnabrück caused some controversy: in the 39th minute, MSV pro Jan-Simon Symalla went down in the penalty area in a duel with VfL defender Jannik Müller, followed by Christian Viet. Referee Timo Gansloweit initially let play continue, but then showed Viet a yellow card for diving.

In his column for the portal “liga3online.de,” former Bundesliga referee Babak Rafati analyzed the scene. According to the 55-year-old, MSV should have been awarded a penalty when Symalla fell.

“Symalla gets to the ball first in the penalty area and taps it to put it in front of him. Müller is surprised and also wants to get to the ball, but is a little too late, only hitting Symalla’s foot and causing him to fall. That’s a foul, and there should have been a penalty and a yellow card for Müller. Therefore, it was the wrong decision not to award a penalty,“ according to the former FIFA referee’s assessment. The subsequent action, which according to Rafati ”should not have happened,” was correctly handled by Gansloweit, as Viet had indeed dived.

This means that Meiderich could have achieved more than “just” one point. On Friday evening (October 7, 7 p.m.), MSV Duisburg will finally be looking to get back to winning ways in their home game against SV Waldhof Mannheim, after failing to win in their last five games (four draws, one defeat).