Referees usually have to be fit to referee a football match, as they have to run roughly the same distance as players on both teams. However, things are a little different for Felix Brych in Leverkusen today: instead of the usual endurance run, the first few minutes for Brych today were more like an afternoon of watching TV.
After five minutes, Boniface broke through to the left of the box and passed it to Grimaldo, whose shot was blocked. Dina Ebimbe then tried to clear the ball, but primarily hit Leverkusen’s Adli in the back of the net.
Referee Felix Brych pointed to the spot, but was advised by Cologne to look at the scene again. The 49-year-old did that, spent a good two minutes on the screen, but stuck to his decision. From Leverkusen’s point of view, the waiting time shouldn’t really be worth it. Victor Boniface already (or rather: passed) the ball into the arms of SGE keeper Santos.
Ten minutes later, Omar Marmoush fell on the other side in a duel with Andrich, who pulled the Egyptian’s foothold away. Here too, Brych said: Off to the telly.
However, the check would not have been necessary again. Brych stuck to his decision.
Because in Frankfurt we know: a 911 like this will make a mess! Frankfurt’s Egyptian, who is brilliant every weekend these days, scored to make it 1-0.
Robert Andrich equalized Franfurt’s opening goal after 25 minutes, so the score is currently 1-1.
