A late hand penalty costs VfL Bochum the win 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 into injury time.

After a shot from Arne Meier, central defender Ivan Ordets kicked the ball in his own penalty area. Referee Patrick Ittrich initially allowed play to continue, but after a suggestion from the video assistant, he reviewed the scene again and corrected his decision.

Augsburg equalized from the resulting penalty. And Ittrich used his account on X as a platform to “create some transparency in a key scene”, as he wrote in the introduction to his post the following day. “The player had a clear view of the ball, went into a crouch, and held his arm at a 90-degree angle above his thigh, preventing the shot,” explained Ittrich. This was an unnatural increase in the size of the body, ”perhaps also a reflex, which then caused the criterion of intent. Therefore, it is a handball and a penalty kick.”

The 45-year-old also emphasized that it was impossible to see the handball from where he was standing. “That’s what the VAR is for.” The Bochum players, who had already conceded a penalty for the eighth time this season, didn’t even doubt the referee’s decision after the game.

Rather, it was their own missed chances that annoyed VfL. After taking the lead through Moritz Broschinski’s overhead kick (35′), the hosts had several opportunities to pull away 2-0. But Moritz Broni-Kwarteng and Matus Bero missed two big chances. “We should have decided the game with those two moments,” said coach Thomas Letsch after the final whistle. Instead, the team that created the chances took revenge: with the justified penalty whistle from Patrick Ittrich.