German side Holstein Kiel conceded one of the more unusual VAR goals of the season after unused substitute Michael Eberwein conceded a penalty for stopping the ball going out of play while warming up behind the goal.
The Bundesliga 2 outfit were a goal to the good at home to VfL Bochum on Friday night when opposition striker Silvere Ganvoula M’boussy dragged a shot wide from a tight angle as Bochum pressed forward for an equalizer.
But with the ball rolling harmlessly wide, Holstein Kiel substitute Eberwein seemed to absent-mindedly stop the ball from leaving the field of play while he was warming up.
The referee stopped play and consulted with VAR to determine if Eberwein acted against the rules of the game by interfering with play while not an active participant in the game.
After a brief pause it was determined that the correct course of action was to award Bochum a penalty and issue Eberwein with a yellow card.
This is the most bizarre thing you will see all weekend!
A German side conceded a penalty after a substitute prevented the ball from going harmlessly out of play. pic.twitter.com/VZModMZdmx
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) October 26, 2019
Rules are rules subs shouldn’t be there
— Paul Brooks (@PaulbrooksAMG) October 27, 2019
Remarkably Eberwein, who is a new signing at Holstein Kiel, hadn’t played a minute of action on the pitch since joining his new team, which gives him the unfortunate honor of being responsible for the concession of a penalty and the recipient of a yellow card before he has played even a minute in his new colors.
M’boussy tucked the penalty away to tie the game but Janni Luca Serra saved Holstein Kiel’s (and Eberwein’s) blushes by scoring what proved to be the winner on 52 minutes.
However, the influence of VAR on the game – in what is perhaps the strangest application of it to date – will be the most talked-about point to come from the match except, perhaps, in the Eberwein household.
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