Christian Tiffert scored one of the most legendary “non-goals” in German soccer history for MSV Duisburg. One that wouldn’t be possible today. Do you remember?
MSV Duisburg is currently fighting for promotion to the 2. Bundesliga. And things aren’t looking too bad—the Zebras are currently second in the 3. Liga table and occupy a direct promotion spot.
Sixteen years ago, a similar race took place in the 2. Bundesliga. 1. FC Kaiserslautern, FC St. Pauli, Arminia Bielefeld, Fortuna Düsseldorf, FC Augsburg, and MSV Duisburg—occupying spots one through six—had legitimate hopes of promotion to the Bundesliga, and 1. FC Union Berlin was still in the running as well.
It goes without saying that on Sunday, January 17, 2010, a home win against relegation-threatened FSV Frankfurt was a must for the Zebras. Then-MSV coach Milan Sasic fielded a lineup against the Bornheimers featuring players such as Tom Starke, Björn Schlicke, Ivica Grlic, Adam Bodzek, Olcay Sahan, Christian Tiffert, Caiuby, and Srdjan Baljak.
MSV quickly took control of the game and, thanks to goals from Baljak (13th min.), Grlic (44′), Sahan (59′), and Nicky Adler (65′), they could count on the three points by the middle of the second half at the latest. But the biggest excitement of the match came shortly before the end.
FSV goalkeeper Patrick Klandt played the ball into Tiffert’s path. The Duisburg player controlled the ball and, with a clear shot on goal, opted for a chip shot. The ball sailed over the keeper, hit the crossbar, and bounced down about a meter in front of the goal line. Referee Marco Fritz, to the surprise of everyone in the stadium and watching on TV, still awarded the goal, and MSV Duisburg won 5-0.
However, Tiffert’s phantom goal continued to reverberate. “That is a serious mistake that simply must not happen. For the ball to bounce a meter in front of the goal line and still be ruled a goal—that has never happened before,” said Eugen Strigel, the referee observer at the time, in the aftermath.
Referee Fritz had relied on the reaction of his assistant, Thomas Münch. “I didn’t see it, I just reacted,” he told “Bild.”
With today’s technology—video review and goal-line technology—such an irregular goal would no longer be possible. Incidentally, FSV Frankfurt did not file a protest after the match regarding the game and its outcome. MSV Duisburg finished sixth at the end of the season, while FSV Frankfurt, in fifteenth place, barely avoided relegation. But Christian Tiffert’s phantom goal remains etched in memory. Do you still remember?