Borussia Dortmund were ‘cheated’ out of a place in the next round of the Champions League in their defeat to Chelsea this week.
That’s according to Didi Hamann, who says the rules of the game were broken over Kai Havertz’s controversial re-taken penalty that won the Blues the tie.
Chelsea ran out 2-0 winners over Dortmund at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, with goals from Havertz and Raheem Sterling helping them to secure a 2-1 win on aggregate and progress to the quarterfinals.
Havertz’s goal came from the penalty spot after a hugely controversial moment in which he initially missed his first take before being handed a second chance by referee Danny Makkelie due to Dortmund players encroaching into the box.
That decision has been hugely criticised since, with an outpouring of fury in Germany over the decision and Dortmund’s eventual defeat.
Makkelie has been the focus of the ire and Hamann has added to it, insisting the Bundesliga side were ‘cheated’ out of a huge result.
“As far as Dortmund’s departure is concerned, I have to say it clearly: BVB were cheated,” he wrote in his column for Sky Germany.
“Whether Dortmund would have progressed against Chelsea without the repeated penalty is anyone’s guess. But it was never a penalty and VAR shouldn’t have intervened as the referee was five yards wide.
“He saw Wolf get the ball shot in the arm and he ruled it a non-criminal offense. VAR shouldn’t have sent out the referee and Makkelie shouldn’t have changed his mind because it wasn’t a penalty.
“And the VAR should not have ordered the retake of the penalty. According to the rule book, he is only allowed to do this “if a defender who runs too early prevents an attacker from playing the ball and thus prevents a possible goal.” But that was not the case with Salih Özcan.
“I don’t want to delve too deeply into sports jurisdiction, but my question would be why is there no way to protest when there is a clear violation of the rules? Maybe someone should do it.
“The Dortmunders were cheated. End. BVB was denied a huge chance to reach the quarterfinals. Who knows when this opportunity will come up again?”
