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Football chiefs dismiss 'ghost goal' case

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Football chiefs dismiss 'ghost goal' case
Photo: DPA

The German Football Association rejected a complaint from Hoffenheim on Monday about a "ghost goal" scored in the Bundesliga a week ago. The referee allowed a header to stand despite the ball slipping in through a hole in the net.

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Hoffenheim had called for a replay after losing 2-1 to Bayer Leverkusen thanks to the freak "phantom" goal.

Replays showed a header from striker Stefan Kießling in the 70th minute only ended up in the goal after flying through a hole in the side netting.

But the DFB decided after a 90-minute hearing at a court in Frankfurt on Monday that there would be no replay of the game. Referee Felix Brych had not breached any rules by allowing the goal to stand, it ruled.

Brych said: “I thought that the ball had gone past the goal. I lost the ball from view as my line of sight was obstructed. Then I saw the ball was lying in the goal.”

Striker Kießling said he thought the Hoffenheim goalkeeper had steered the ball into the goal. “I saw the ball flying towards the outside of the net,” he said. “My view was blocked. I didn't see the impact but the ball was in the goal.”

Leverkusen’s sports director Rudi Völler had called on the court to replay the last 22 minutes of the game but without success.

Hoffenheim may now appeal the court’s decision.

READ MORE: Football bosses to probe ghost goal 'scandal'

DPA/The Local/tsb

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