A German referee was prevented from checking a penalty on the pitchside monitor after two masked individuals pulled the plug at a second-division game, reported dpa, quoting media on Sunday.
The referee at the Preussen Münster against Hertha Berlin match was sent to the screen by the video assistant referee (VAR) but when he got there, it was black.
Sky TV quoted a security employee as saying it was sabotage and the Bild newspaper also reported the incident.
A banner was briefly held up in the Münster fan block that read, "Pull the plug on VAR."
In his stadium announcement after appearing to be unable to review a possible penalty for Hertha, referee Felix Bickel explicitly pointed out that the video assistant had judged the scene to be a foul.
Fabian Reese converted the penalty in the fourth minute of added time in the first half to give Hertha a 1-0 lead at half-time. The Berliners won 2-1.
German football has endured a controversial weekend with regards to referees.
Cologne's stadium announcer was criticized by his own club for slamming refereeing decisions twice over the public address system in the 2-1 home loss to Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
The top German refereeing body DFB Schiri GmbH also said in a statement to broadcaster ARD that his outbursts were "unacceptable" and Michael Trippel has apologized.
"My comments were made in the heat of the moment and out of frustration with VAR, which has repeatedly disadvantaged us this season," he told the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger newspaper.
DFB Schiri GmbH admitted that Cologne should have had a penalty late on when Yan Couto's handball was not punished.
- VAR screen
- Sabotaged
- Germany
- Football
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
