Cologne demands replay against Dortmund after VAR row

Bengaluru, September 18: It looks as though there is no end in sight for FC Cologne's woes for the time being at least.

The German club was in the eye of a storm during their Europa League tie against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium last Thursday (September 14).

It may be recalled that an estimated 20,000 Cologne fans marched through London to celebrate their team's first European match in 25 years.

But many of them did not have tickets and in addition to loosing the match 1-3, Cologne were subject of a UEFA probe into the crowd trouble which forced a delayed start to the match.

They had barely time to settle as they took on Borussia Dortmund in Bundesliga yesterday (September 17).

Not only did Cologne suffer another reversal, this time a humiliating 0-5 defeat, but they also argued with referee over the use of video assistant referee (VAR) technology.

#Stöger: Gratulation an den @BVB. Der Sieg geht in der Größenordnung in Ordnung. #effzeh #BVBKOE pic.twitter.com/JRv9pRv7yR

— 1. FC Köln (@fckoeln) September 17, 2017

The trouble started when referee Patrick Ittrich initially disallowed a Dortmund goal and awarded Cologne a free kick, before reversing the decision.

Cologne goalkeeper Timo Horn had dropped the ball at a corner and Dortmund's Sokratis tapped it in.

Ittrich at first awarded Cologne a free kick but, after consulting with the VAR, changed his mind and gave the goal.

Cologne argued that the referee had blown his whistle before the ball entered the goal, meaning that he could not subsequently award it no matter what the video showed.

The club's sporting director Joerg Schmadtke said the referee had not followed protocol and that they would demand a replay.

"We will naturally lodge a protest," said Schmadtke.

"If a decision is made against the framework of rules, then a replay is necessary and that is what we will seek."
"We need a protocol where it is clearly established when the VAR assistant can intervene and when he can't," he added.