The incident occurred while referee Félix Bickel was deciding the penalty.
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An unidentified individual, dressed in a white jumpsuit and a Münster green balaclava, interrupted Bickel during the match between Preussen Münster and Hertha Berlin.
Muenster later confirmed that the fan left the stands to disconnect the monitor. Television footage captured the person returning to the home fans section immediately after the event.
Despite the bold stoppage, the decision ultimately went against the home team.
Video assistant referee Katrin Rafalski ruled from a distance and communicated her conclusions to Bickel. Hertha’s Fabian Reese later scored the penalty, the first goal of the 2-1 victory.
Preussen Muenster expressed regret and stated that he would “do everything possible to identify the perpetrator or perpetrators and bring them to justice” and added that “initial results indicate that this was a planned action.”
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A large banner displayed by the home fans, reading “Switch off the VAR”, backed him up.
Interestingly, Münster captain Jorrit Hendrix expressed his approval of the fans’ actions.
“This shows how the fans experience things and that they want to do everything possible to win the game,” he said in statements broadcast on the Sportschau television program.
“If they can do something to influence it, they do it. I completely understand that and I think it’s a good thing.”
The incident underlines the ongoing controversy surrounding VAR in German football, where it has been a source of frustration for fans due to perceived delays and unwanted disruption to the flow of the game since its introduction in 2017.
Despite the complaints, VAR is expected to have more power at this summer’s World Cup. The technology will be used to cover second yellow cards and cards awarded to the wrong team.