German referee Florian Meyer has come under scrutiny after he and his fellow match officials failed to award what looked like a goal in Saturday’s German Cup final, as aheader from Dortmund defender Mats Hummels’ seemed to be cleared behind the line by Bayern Munich defender Dante in the 64th-minute with the game stillscoreless. Bayern went on to win the game, 2-0, in overtime.
Meyer, who did not award a goal, defended his decision on Monday. “In the real sequence of events it wasn’t discerniblewithout doubt for either my assistants or myself whether the ball crossed the line or not. So we decided to let the game continue,” he said.
Unlike England’s Premier League,Germany’s first and second divisions do not use goal-line technology after the matter was taken to a vote and rejected last March, although both Bayern and Dortmund voted in favor of thetechnology at the time.
After the game, Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp railed against the decision. “If Dante managed to clear before the line though he was standing withhis leg on the line and he had the other behind it, he could do a number with Cirque du Soleil,” Klopp said. “That has to be seen even without goal-line technology.”
Bayerncoach Pep Guardiola acknowledged that the non-call was a let-off for his team. The Spaniard said, “it would have changed everything” had the goal been awarded.