Hertha lose appeal over relegation play-off
Reuters - Monday 21 May 2012, 19:38
Hertha Berlin have lost their
appeal for a replay of the match at Fortuna Dusseldorf last
week which was twice interrupted by crowd trouble and ended with
them being relegated from the Bundesliga.
The German football federation's (DFB) sporting tribunal
said it could find no justification for ordering a replay of the
relegation play-off second leg that ended 2-2, giving Fortuna a
4-3 aggregate win.
The club, who went straight down after only season in the
top flight, said the decision was "totally incomprehensible" and
that they would appeal to the DFB's highest tribunal, the
Bundesgericht.
"The appeal was not successful because no reasons for
objection could be found," said Hans Lorenz, head of the
tribunal.
"The referee at all times acted according to the rules and
Hertha's claim that the team was weakened by the interruption
could not be proved."
The 2-2 draw in Dusseldorf was interrupted twice for a
total of about 30 minutes by a pitch invasion and flares. The
game was first stopped after Fortuna scored on the hour to take
a 2-1 lead, leaving Hertha needing two goals.
Dozens of lit flares from both groups of fans landed on the
pitch, prompting referee Wolfgang Stark to stop play.
The game was interrupted again for more than 20 minutes deep
in stoppage time after hundreds of Fortuna fans poured on to the
pitch thinking it was over and forcing both teams to seek refuge
in the changing rooms.
Hertha said their players were reluctant to return to the
pitch and that they were afraid.
"For Hertha, it's totally incomprehensible that a player has
to be injured in order for the result of match to be
overturned," the club said in a statement.
"It should be sufficient that a game has finished amid
completely irregular circumstances and the players as a result
of the situation could no longer concentrate on the football
match."