“Correct penalty”: DFB defends referee Zwayer

The DFB defends the controversial decisions of referee Felix Zwayer in the top Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich (2: 3). Discussions about the hand penalty against Mats Hummels (73rd) are “understandable” given Zwayer’s generous line, said Jochen Drees, project manager for the video evidence, dfb.de.

“If you look at the situation in isolation, the assessment of a punishable handball and thus a penalty is correct,” explained Drees.

When Lucas Hernandez bumped against Marco Reus, there was “upper body contact and a slight push by the Munich player”. “There is no hit in the foot area here.”

Zwayer did not use the TV images because he had “complete perception and control over the entire process”. “The duel will not be judged to be punishable. Since the information in the pictures does not differ from the referee’s perception, it is purely a question of evaluation that the referee has to make on the pitch.”

In any case, BVB striker Erling Haaland “found himself with one foot offside in the opening of this attack situation,” so that the subsequent evaluation of the duel scene no longer plays a role for the VA. This means that even if the duel is criminally assessed, this penalty would have been corrected by the VA because the Dortmund attacker was offside. “