December 16 – Bochum will protest to the German football association after their goalkeeper Patrick Drewes was hit by a lighter in their Bundesliga draw at Union Berlin on Saturday, with the teams later returning to the pitch to finish the match but running down the clock without trying to score.
With the game level at 1-1 and added time ticking down, Drewes fell to his knees after being struck on the head.
“He is currently being taken to the hospital where he will be completely checked again, and then we will wait and see,” said Bochum’s coach, Dieter Hecking.
The referee suspended the game and led both teams off the field. Nearly half an hour later, the game resumed and Drewes was replaced in goal by striker Philipp Hofmann. But with only about three minutes left, both teams agreed to not try to score, passing the ball around and chatting waiting for the referee to declare the game over.
Bochum finished the game with nine players because of Drewes’ absence and an earlier red card but chief executive Ilja Kaenzig said his club would file a formal protest over the result of the game, arguing the referee should not have restarted it and that his team should be awarded all three points.
“The rules are very clear. We had exhausted our substitution quota,” Kaenzig said, adding Bochum were “at a sporting disadvantage”.
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