SC Freiburg appeal against Bayern Munich after Der Rekordmeister fielded 12 players in their Bundesliga clash

Bundesliga club Freiburg has appealed against Bayern Munich after the Der Rekordmeister had an extra player on the field for 17 seconds around the 85th minute. Bayern Munich was already 3-1 ahead when they made a double substitution. However, only one player went off the pitch. The mistake happened because Julian Nagelsmann’s assistant gave the fourth official Kingsley Coman’s old number to hold up during a double substitution instead of his current one. Marcel Sabitzer and Niklas Süle were supposed to come on for Kingsley Coman and Corentin Tolisso. Freiburg defender Nico Schlotterbeck told referee Christian Dingert that the visitors had an extra player, and after a 10-minute hold-up in play before Coman went off. Christian Streich‘s club is appealing against Bayern, but it remains to be seen whether the appeal will be successful.

Freiburg’s official statement reads, “We are in a dilemma through no fault of our own. Freiburg had no part or influence on the events surrounding the process. Nevertheless, the legal and procedural rules of the DFB formally force us to play an active role to have the processes legally checked. In principle, we have no interest whatsoever in this active role, which has been given to us against our will in terms of procedural technology, and we feel extremely uncomfortable in it. Ultimately, it burdens the completely uninvolved club – in this case, us – with the responsibility for processing an obvious violation of the rules. Nevertheless, after intensive discussions at different levels and a legal examination, the board of Freiburg [has] decided to appeal against the result of the game.”

Earlier this season, Wolfsburg was thrown out of the German Cup for making too many substitutions in its first-round win over Preußen Münster. Ironically, Christian Dingert was the referee in charge of both matches. The DFB made clear on Monday that there would be no consequences for him. We wait to see what action will be taken against the German champions for their gaffe. They did not ask for an outright reversal of the scoreline. 

On the situation, Nagelsmann said, “It was a vague situation. Coco had stomach problems and ran into the dressing room. Coman didn’t know he had to go off too and stayed on the pitch for 8 to 9 seconds. It was nothing game-changing”

Bayern sits atop the Bundesliga table, nine points away from Borussia Dortmund’s reach. However, Freiburg is in an interesting battle with RB Leipzig for the fourth UEFA Champions League spot. They are fifth, but Koln, Union Berlin, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Mainz are all within touching distance of that coveted final UCL position.