This is the kind of inconvenience that we imagine almost exclusively among amateurs. So when it comes to one of the biggest clubs on the planet, it doesn’t go unnoticed. Except for the referee who hadn’t seen anything, but who recorded everything in his post-match report.
Very large winner (4-1) of Freiburg this Saturday, Bayern Munich was therefore pinned for having played 11 against 12, for about fifteen seconds. The misunderstanding occurred in the 84th minute, when, at the same time as that of Niklas Süle, Marcel Sabitzer entered the game, announced in place of n°29. Except that the latter does not exist! It’s actually Kingsley Coman’s old number, which is now number 11.
The French striker had just scored his team’s third goal. The confusion would have started from an urgent need to go to the bathroom by Corentin Tolisso, who came into play in the 62nd minute. “It was vague, explained Julian Nagelsmann, the Bavarian coach. Tolisso rushed in because he had stomach problems, then the fourth referee displayed the wrong number. Kingsley who didn’t know he had to go out. It was a bit confusing. These are mistakes that happen, but there is nothing that impacts the honesty of the match, ”he argued.
The Friborg players immediately noticed this and reported it to the man in black. The confusion lasted eight minutes before everything was back to normal. And Bayern, which had regained a three-point lead (nine in total) over Dortmund, dryly beaten (1-4) on its ground by Leipzig, could therefore lose them according to several experts. “We noted everything in the match report. The rest will be decided by the Federation,” the referee said. Freiburg has until Monday afternoon to appeal.