After the 1-1 draw against 1. FC Union Berlin, FSV Mainz 05 was outraged by a controversial referee decision. “Unbelievable, I have no words,” said midfielder Nadiem Amiri after the game on DAZN.
The reason for the trouble was a situation in the tenth minute when Mainz striker Ludovic Ajorque was hit in the head by Berlin’s Robin Knoche in the opposing penalty area. Ajorque was bleeding from the head and had to be treated, but referee Martin Petersen did not award a penalty.
“What do we have the video evidence for? I don’t understand it,” complained Amiri. “It’s clearly a penalty. He’s kicking him in the face with his studs. I think his nose is broken. He’s been bleeding the whole game and it’s not a penalty, or what?”
His teammate Jonathan Burkardt couldn’t believe it either. “It’s unbelievable,” said the striker, who scored the 1-0 (45th 8th minute). “That really hurts, for me it was a clear penalty. I don’t even know what the reasoning is in retrospect. You have to see that in the pictures.” Instead of a penalty, the referee decided on a corner.