Referee head Lutz Michael Fröhlich and video proof project manager Jochen Drees of the German Football Association (Deutscher Fußball-Bund) have admitted to mistakes in the Supercup after Joshua Kimmich of the German champion Bayern Munich took the kick against Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho. “Whoever steps on an opponent’s foot in such a way during a game interruption must be given a red card,” said Fröhlich at the media workshop Video Assistant on Monday in Cologne.
Drees added: “Video assistant Robert Schröder made a mistake in the formal process. He should have sent referee Daniel Siebert to the review area for his own evaluation, as he had no clear perception of the scene on the square. Instead, he and his team mistakenly assessed the situation with a yellow card in the video cellar.”
Kimmich had brutally stepped on Sancho’s ankle in the 76th minute during a game interruption and had received only one yellow card. The German national player had declared after the game that the kick was “no intention” and that he had “no intention” to injure Sancho.
Drees didn’t want to overestimate the mistake for the already controversial video evidence: “I don’t see the setback that dramatic. The claim not to make mistakes cannot be ruled out with humans. Unfortunately, it happened in the excitement of an important game and we want to and must continue to work on it for the future.”
