The penalty for Dominik Kohr of 1. FSV Mainz 05 following his horrific foul in the match against TSG Hoffenheim has now been announced.
Defender Dominik Kohr will be allowed to play one more Bundesliga game before the end of the year following his record-breaking red card.
As the German Football Association (DFB) announced on Monday, the Mainz player received a three-game suspension and a fine of 15,000 euros in a single-judge proceeding following his red card for “rough play.”
As a result, the 31-year-old will miss the matches against SC Freiburg, Borussia Mönchengladbach, and Bayern Munich; he will be eligible to play again on December 21 in the relegation battle against FC St. Pauli.
The ruling is final. During the 1-1 (0-1) draw against TSG Hoffenheim, Kohr delivered a brutal kick with the sole of his shoe aimed at Max Moerstedt’s shin. After consultation with the video assistant referee, referee Sascha Stegemann had no choice but to upgrade the yellow card to a red one (88th minute). With his ninth red card, Kohr set the sole record in the Bundesliga, leaving Jens Nowotny and Luiz Gustavo behind.
He has received six yellow-red cards so far and has been sent off three times. He has also accumulated 128 yellow cards. Kohr has already faced harsh criticism for his style of play.
“The Mainz player is ‘known for injuring people, so he should be punished at some point,’” Stuttgart’s Deniz Undav had railed at the end of October following the cup match. After Kohr’s latest outburst, 1990 World Cup champion Olaf Thon has now called for a twelve-game suspension. “I think it’s time to make an example of him,” he wrote in his kicker column.
“That wasn’t a red card—it was a black one!” Manuel Gräfe ranted in “Bild” against Mainz’s “Rambo.”
With his ninth red card, he set an inglorious record in the Bundesliga and, in his 316th game, surpassed Jens Nowotny and Luiz Gustavo.
“Defending without compromise is part of my soccer DNA,” Kohr wrote on social media. “But of course, I’m also a human being who never goes into a tackle with the intention of injuring someone or with the willingness to simply accept that my opponent might get hurt just to clear the ball.”
He continued: “I’d also like to apologize to my team, whom I let down yesterday, and to our fans, whom I serve and for whom I always want to give my all. Even though it’s been claimed otherwise in public: I’m willing to throw myself into every tackle for you, but I want to assure you once again that I never intend to injure anyone on purpose.”