VFL BOCHUM have had their 1-1 draw with Union Berlin overturned to a 2-0 win by Bundesliga chiefs.
The match finished in controversial circumstances last month.
Patrick Drewes felt an object thrown at him[/caption]
The Bochum goalkeeper went down holding his head[/caption]
Drewes received treatment after being struck[/caption]
Bochum players were fuming after the incident[/caption]
Bochum had gone down to 10 men just 13 minutes into the contest after former Birmingham ace Koji Miyoshi saw red.
Nevertheless, Ibrahima Sissoko gave his side the lead on 23 minutes in the German capital.
Union didn’t take long to hit back, with Benedict Hollerbach levelling shortly after the half hour.
Having been a man short for most of the game, Bochum were understandably content to secure a draw.
In the first minute of second half stoppage time, goalkeeper Patrick Drewes was booked for timewasting.
As the stopper lined up to take the following goal kick, he appeared to be struck by a lighter thrown from the crowd.
After the object whistled past him, Drewes went down holding his head.
Amid fury from home supporters, who felt that Drewes was exaggerating the contact, the goalkeeper received medical attention.
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Drewes shows the officials the lighter he was struck by[/caption]
Four minutes after the incident occurred, Bochum players were sent back to the dressing room by the referee.
A further four minutes later, Union players followed suit.
Sixteen minutes after the original incident, the home side returned to the pitch.
Bochum eventually re-emerged too, with the game resuming around 25 minutes after the lighter was thrown.
With Drewes feeling unable to continue, and the visitors having already used all their substitutes, striker Philipp Hofmann went in goal.
But fans needn’t have worried about whether Hofmann was any good between the sticks or not, because the two teams seemingly agreed to just pass the ball between themselves for the remaining minutes, rather than looking to score.
This saw the strange contest finish 1-1, but that was not to be the end of it.
Bochum chiefs opted to appeal the referee’s decision to resume the match.
Their case centred around Drewes being unable to continue due to the actions of a supporter.
The stopper, 31, said he “felt dizzy” following the incident.
‘NO OTHER CHOICE’
The German football federation’s sports court accepted Bochum’s case and opted to award them a 2-0 victory.
Head of the court Stefan Oberholz claimed that they had “no other choice”.
Union will have a week to appeal the ruling, if they so wish.
They claim that they will make a decision after receiving the ruling in writing.
Prior to the ruling, Union were 12th in the Bundesliga table with 17 points from 12 games.
Losing the point earned against Bochum will not see them fall any places.
Bochum, meanwhile, are bottom of the league, having won just once all season.
The two extra points gained sees them go level with 17th-placed Holstein Kiel, although their goal difference remains inferior.
