Borussia Dortmund picked up a point in the top match in Leverkusen. After the 1-1 draw, BVB coach Edin Terzic was annoyed with the referee.

The Borussia Dortmund players were disappointed after the 1-1 (1-0) draw in the top match at Bayer Leverkusen because they were unable to defend Julian Ryerson’s (5th minute) lead until the end. Ryerson, for example, described the draw, which Victor Boniface (78th minute) secured for the league leaders, as fair in a matter-of-fact statement. Half an hour after the final whistle, BVB coach Edin Terzic stepped up to the DAZN microphone – and unlike his players, he had not calmed down.

He became emotional and had already engaged in a heated discussion with referee Daniel Siebert immediately after the final whistle. “I told him exactly what I thought,” said the angry coach.

There were two incidents that upset Terzic: In the 73rd minute, Karim Adeyemi dribbled past two Leverkusen players in the penalty area and went down. Referee Siebert immediately signaled for play to continue, and there was no video review. “I think it was contact, a clear penalty,” Terzic complained. “And it’s always about Karim Adeyemi. He’s so fast, he dribbles into this situation at 30 km/h, and then just one touch is enough.”

In his agitation, Terzic also got into a heated exchange with DAZN expert Michael Ballack, who was watching the game live in Leverkusen. “Of course there was contact, but in my opinion that’s not enough for a penalty because the contact wasn’t strong enough.”

Terzic reacted immediately: “I don’t want to and can’t defend the referee.” The coach also justified this with penalties that had recently been awarded against BVB. “The penalties that are being awarded against us nationally and internationally are out of proportion to what happened here today. That’s what upsets me. In Stuttgart, when we lost 1-2, we were told that there was clear contact from Gregor Kobel, so the penalty had to be given. Here, we are told that the referee is certain he doesn’t even need to look at it. There is no clear line: what is a penalty and what isn’t?”

And there was a second incident that upset Terzic shortly after the penalty: in the opinion of the Dortmund coach, Leverkusen’s Exequiel Palacios should have been shown a second yellow card for a foul during a Dortmund counterattack that was played to its conclusion.

Siebert had let play continue. “Palacios was shown a yellow card, then we launched a counterattack – and afterwards it was said: if we give advantage, it’s not a yellow card,” explained Terzic, addressing Ballack directly: “How many times have you seen a yellow card given after the fact in a situation like that? Then I explained: OK, I misunderstood the rule.”