Arbitration court confirms: Bochum wins against Union
VfL Bochum is allowed to keep the 2-0 victory it was awarded after the lighter scandal at Union Berlin. This was the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
Patrick Drewes (right) was hit by a lighter on Matchday 14 in Berlin. Picture alliance/dpa
There's no further change in the Bundesliga relegation battle just before the end of the season. Since Monday, it has been confirmed that VfL Bochum's away match at 1. FC Union Berlin on Matchday 14 will be a 2-0 win for the visitors.
Four months after the scandalous match in which VfL goalkeeper Patrick Drewes was hit by a lighter and which had actually ended in a 1-1 draw, the Permanent Court of Arbitration upheld the rulings handed down by the DFB's Sports and Federal Court. "The decision of the DFB Sports Court is free of legal errors and is based on the provisions of the DFB's legal and procedural rules," said Prof. Dr. Udo Steiner, chairman of the arbitration court, on the association's website. "The match was not abandoned, but continued, but the teams involved mutually agreed not to score any more goals. Therefore, the arbitration court considered this case a de facto abandonment of the match and considered it equivalent to a formal abandonment of the match by a referee."
Bochum is still the new bottom teamFor Bochum, the two additional points could prove crucial in their position at the bottom of the table, where their situation worsened over the weekend. Due to victories against rivals 1. FC Heidenheim (1-0 at VfB Stuttgart) and Holstein Kiel (4-3 against Borussia Mönchengladbach), VfL slipped to last place.
On Sunday, coach Dieter Hecking's team could only manage a 1-1 draw in their second-half clash with Union Berlin . They are four points behind the relegation zone with three games remaining, and safety is already out of reach.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration's decision has no sporting implications for Union. The Iron Ones had already celebrated their survival in the league the previous week with a spectacular 4-4 draw against Stuttgart. Nevertheless, they vehemently defended themselves against the arbitration defeat until the very end and refused to accept the point loss against VfL.
The match at the An der Alten Försterei stadium was suspended for over 25 minutes in the 92nd minute in December after a lighter was thrown from the Union stand. Although referee Martin Petersen subsequently resumed the game and blew the whistle, both teams agreed to a non-aggression pact. Drewes did not play and had to be replaced between the posts by striker Philipp Hofmann because Bochum were not allowed to make any substitutions. Union accused Drewes of acting.
Lawsuits from St. Pauli and Kiel also rejectedAccording to the DFB, the arbitration tribunal also dismissed the claims filed by FC St. Pauli and Holstein Kiel. Both clubs, it argued, had no right to a review of the DFB Sports Court's ruling. The claims lacked "a legally established, legitimate interest in reviewing the compliance of a match score determined for a match between two other teams in the same division." Rather, St. Pauli and Kiel were only "virtually" affected with regard to the league table.
