Christian Tiffert scored one of the most legendary “non-goals” in German soccer history for MSV Duisburg. One that would no longer be possible today. Do you remember?

MSV Duisburg is currently fighting for promotion to the 2nd division. And things are looking pretty good, with the Zebras currently second in the 3rd division and occupying a direct promotion spot.

Sixteen years ago, a similar race took place in the 2nd division. 1. FC Kaiserslautern, FC St. Pauli, Arminia Bielefeld, Fortuna Düsseldorf, FC Augsburg, and MSV Duisburg, occupying places one to six, had legitimate hopes of promotion to the Bundesliga, and 1. FC Union Berlin was also still in the running.

It was clear that on Sunday, January 17, 2010, a home win against relegation-threatened FSV Frankfurt was a must for the Zebras. The then MSV coach Milan Sasic fielded a team against Bornheim that included names such as Tom Starke, Björn Schlicke, Ivica Grlic, Adam Bodzek, Olcay Sahan, Christian Tiffert, Caiuby, and Srdjan Baljak. The MSV quickly took the lead and, thanks to goals from Baljak (13th minute), Grlic (44′), Sahan (59′) and Nicky Adler (65′), they were able to plan for the three points by the middle of the second half at the latest. However, the biggest excitement of the game came shortly before the end. The Duisburg player controlled the ball and, with only Klandt to beat, decided to lob it. The ball flew over the keeper, hit the crossbar and bounced down about a meter in front of the goal line. To the surprise of everyone in the stadium and watching on TV, referee Marco Fritz awarded the goal and MSV Duisburg won 5-0.

However, Tiffert’s phantom goal continued to reverberate. “That’s a serious mistake that simply shouldn’t happen. The ball bouncing a meter in front of the goal line and being ruled a goal – that’s never happened before,” said Eugen Strigel, the referee observer at the time, in the aftermath.

Referee Fritz relied on the reaction of his assistant Thomas Münch. “I didn’t see it, I just reacted,” he told Bild.

With current technology, video evidence, and goal-line technology, such an irregular goal would no longer be possible. Incidentally, FSV Frankfurt did not lodge a protest after the game, considering the match and how it unfolded. MSV Duisburg finished sixth at the end of the season, while FSV Frankfurt just managed to stay up in fifteenth place. But Christian Tiffert’s phantom goal remains etched in the memory. Do you still remember it?