Der Klassiker is a fixture in German football that never has its shortage of drama and this season’s first installment of the affair between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich lived up to the billing.
Goals from Jamie Gittens and Jamal Musiala saw the match end in a 1-1 draw at Signal Iduna Park, but there were plenty of talking points aside from the goals scored, including the 18 fouls committed and pair of yellow cards each side was shown.
Bayern might have come away with a vital point after a spirited second-half fight back, but there could yet be punishment doled out for an incident involving Leroy Sané and Dortmund’s Pascal Groß. During the second half of play, there was an attacking sequence for Bayern during which Sané elbowed Groß as a result of the Dortmund midfielder marking him closely, jostling for position. Groß did not go down, but he did briefly hold his face after taking the hit from Sané.
Per information from Bild (via @iMiaSanMia) a DFB control committee is now reviewing the incident from the match to determine if there will be any punishment sent in the direction of Sané. This is apparently a process that is taking place before the DFB would decide on if a thorough, comprehensive investigation is required to decide what retrospective punishment the player should receive.
In the view of referee expert Thorsten Kinhöfer, VAR should have instructed the on-field officials to take a closer look at the incident during the match. He feels that if there was a more dramatic reaction from Groß, it would have prompted a closer look, which very well might have resulted in Sané being given his marching orders. “If Groß lets himself fall and holds his face, as most players do these days, it will probably be considered assault. Even if he doesn’t hit him fully – Sané swings, and that’s a blow. That then clearly goes in the direction of assault,” Kinhöfer explained to Bild (via t-online). He is rather confident from the video evidence that it was not a reflexive movement and reaction from Sané.
Photo by Lukas Schulze/Bundesliga/Bundesliga Collection via Getty Images
For Sané, if he does get retrospective punishment, it would not be the first time in recent memory this has happened. He was banned for several matches with the German national team after he shoved Austria’s Philipp Mwene to the ground in a 2-0 friendly loss in November 2023. Punishment for the incident in the Dortmund match could also mean that he does not play again until 2025 if the punishment does come in the form of match bans across the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal.
Looking for an extended breakdown of Bayern Munich’s DFB-Pokal showdown with Bayer Leverkusen? Then check out our latest Bavarian Podcast Works Show on Patreon, Spotify, or below:
