In the 71st minute of the DFB Cup first-round encounter between VfL Osnabrück and RB Leipzig, with the hosts 1-0 up, referee Martin Petersen called a halt to the game and led the players off the pitch. The 30-year-old official from Stuttgart had been struck in the head by a cigarette lighter thrown from the VfL section of fans.
"What we’ve seen here in Osnabrück can only be described as a violent attack on the referee. Suspending the game is therefore the logical and necessary course of action," said Herbert Fandel, chairman of the refereeing commission.
DFB media director Ralf Köttker added: "The Controlling and Ethics Committee have already begun their investigation into the matter. The DFB Sports Tribunal will decide on the outcome of the match, as well as the correct sanctions to be placed on the club responsible for the incident."
In the 71st minute of the DFB Cup first-round encounter between VfL Osnabrück and RB Leipzig, with the hosts 1-0 up, referee Martin Petersen called a halt to the game and led the players off the pitch. The 30-year-old official from Stuttgart had been struck in the head by a cigarette lighter thrown from the VfL section of fans.
"What we’ve seen here in Osnabrück can only be described as a violent attack on the referee. Suspending the game is therefore the logical and necessary course of action," said Herbert Fandel, chairman of the refereeing commission.
DFB media director Ralf Köttker added: "The Controlling and Ethics Committee have already begun their investigation into the matter. The DFB Sports Tribunal will decide on the outcome of the match, as well as the correct sanctions to be placed on the club responsible for the incident."
