Marius Wolf was inconsolable. With a dark expression, the unlucky Dortmunder commented on the key scene in the round of 16 of the Bundesliga soccer club in the Champions League. “All in all, it’s very annoying. It’s not intentional, I don’t go to the ball, I have my arm on my body and I turn away,” said the Dortmund full-back after his team’s 0: 2 (0: 1). Chelsea FC the much-discussed hand penalty decision by referee Danny Makkelie. The German national player Kai Havertz (53rd minute) used the penalty in the second attempt for a preliminary decision. The referee’s lack of sensitivity also angered Wolf: “He wouldn’t let himself be talked to. At least I wanted him to explain it to me. Especially with a decision like this.”
After a cross from Ben Chilwell, the ball bounced off Wolf’s slightly spread arm, which Makkelie only punished with a penalty after the video assistant intervened. Havertz put the shot to the inside of the post, but was allowed to play again because some BVB players had moved into the penalty area too early. The referee did not take into account the fact that Chelsea pro Chilwell ran into the penalty area earlier. This prompted Emre Can in particular to speak out clearly: “In the end we lost undeservedly, also because of the referee. We play here at Stamford Bridge, maybe he’s afraid of the fans, but then UEFA should send another referee. It’s extremely painful that we’re eliminated because of a referee.”
TV expert and BVB consultant Matthias Sammer expressed his displeasure on Amazon Prime Video in a similarly clear manner: “The penalty and the repetition. It’s a solid scandal. I don’t need a rule guardian either. Makkelie is a very, very arrogant person.” , complained the former Dortmund professional. The Dortmund team received support from the two former top German referees, Manuel Graefe and Wolfgang Stark. “For me it’s not an intentional handball and it’s not unnatural either. He (Marius Wolf, editor’s note) turns away and the arm goes out a little bit, but it’s still close to the body and without tension, which you can see when the arm is thrown away . Wrong for me and bad luck for BVB,” wrote Graefe on Twitter. Stark agreed when broadcasting on Amazon: “For me, the arm is in a natural position. It doesn’t go to the ball. That’s why it tends not to be punishable for me. I wouldn’t have given it.”
The fact that Makkelie probably acted according to the rules, at least in his decision to have the penalty repeated, was lost in the general excitement. Ex-referee Gräfe, however, wrote on Twitter that night that the repeat of the penalty was another wrong decision by Makkelie. “Özcan does not prevent anyone, among other things, Can would have been on the ball before Fernandez,” says a tweet. The regulations state that a re-take can be checked by VAR if a defending player plays the ball in a situation where an attacking player can score a goal. However, Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez was not in the direction of the ball’s flight.
In general, the criticism of the Dutchman was only partially suitable for explaining the knockout, which was annoying for Dortmund. Finally, BVB – unlike in the successful weeks before with ten competitive wins in a row – offered a despondent performance, especially on the offensive. Raheem Sterling, 44, equalized Dortmund’s 1-0 lead from the first leg with his goal shortly before the break. “We were just too passive in the first half. We lacked penetrating power in the first third. If we’re honest with ourselves, we can be happy with the 0-1 break,” confessed central defender Nico Schlotterbeck and brought the dilemma to the table Point: “More would have been possible.”
