Dortmund ‘top’ Leverkusen 1-0

Game interrupted

BERLIN, Feb 21, (AFP): PierreEmerick Aubameyang scored his 21st league goal in Borussia Dortmund’s controversial 1-0 win at Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday after the referee made Bundesliga history by briefly stopping play when the home coach refused to be sent off.

Confusion reigned for nine second-half minutes at Leverkusen’s BayArena when Bayer coach Roger Schmidt refused match official Felix Zwayer’s order to leave the sidelines which led to the game being halted.

Schmidt can expect heavy sanctions from the German FA (DFB), but Leverkusen’s director of sport Rudi Voeller said it was the referee who was at fault.

“It was completely unnecessary to interupt the game and create such confusion,” Voeller fumed to Sky.

“To act as if something really bad had happened is completely over the top.”

The 48-year-old Schmidt was furious that Dortmund were allowed to take a quick free kick in the build up to Aubameyang’s 64th-minute winner and stood his ground.

The controversy was triggered when Leverkusen striker Stefan Kiessling pushed over Dortmund’s Sven Bender in the Borussia half.

Zwayer awarded a free kick, which Matthias Ginter quickly took.

The move swept down field and Germany defender Erik Durm’s pass pulled the Leverkusen defence to create space for Aubameyang to hit the winner.