Borussia Dortmund’s Sebastian Kehl showed his frustrations towards referee Sascha Stegemann after the Bundesliga leaders dropped points against Bochum on Friday night.
“We’ve been self-critical over the past few weeks and have never looked elsewhere for mistakes. Today, however, I have to say that the referee decided the game,” said Kehl.
Kehl felt that Emre Can was fouled in the build-up to Bochum’s opening goal after four minutes. “He shoves him,” said Kehl. “Anyone who’s played football knows that happens when you’re up in the air and you get shoved. The way Emre falls, it’s a foul that leads to a goal in the end.”
A key moment in the game was when Karim Adeyemi was brought down in the penalty area at 1-1 and post-match, Kehl was livid: “It’s a joke that if you don’t use what you have available, when the German championship is on the line, and he doesn’t even look at it.
“He has to look at them [ed. the two penalty claims]. Is he 100% sure he’s got it right? Could there be any discussion? It’s negligent, it’s cowardly, it’s wrong and it’s shameful. The referee decided the game tonight and cost us two points.”
37-year-old Anthony Losilla opened the scoring for Bochum after four minutes before Karim Adeyemi equalised almost instantly. Mats Hummels thought he scored a 90th minute winning header, but this one was correctly ruled out with the central-defender straying marginally offside.
Whilst Borussia Dortmund are still leading the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich will return to the top should they beat relegation threatened Hertha Berlin on Sunday afternoon.
GGFN | Daniel Pinder
