Official | Elversberg’s Vincent Wagner cleared to face Bayern after DFB overturns suspension

Official | Elversberg’s Vincent Wagner cleared to face Bayern after DFB overturns suspension SV Elversberg head coach Vincent Wagner will be permitted to take his place on the touchline for Sunday’s historic Bundesliga meeting with Bayern Munich after the DFB sports court overturned his automatic one-match suspension. Wagner had initially been ruled out of the fixture following his dismissal during Elversberg’s sensational 4-3 comeback victory away at Borussia Mönchengladbach on Matchday 2. An initial appeal lodged by the newly-promoted club was rejected earlier this week . Elversberg nevertheless challenged the decision again, leading to an oral hearing at the DFB campus in Frankfurt on Friday. The decisive development came when referee Martin Petersen acknowledged that his original assessment of Wagner’s actions had been incorrect. Petersen admits Wagner dismissal was a mistake Wagner initially received a yellow card after entering the pitch to protest a refereeing decision shortly before halftime against Gladbach. The Elversberg head coach believed Tim Kleindienst had touched the ball last before Gladbach were incorrectly awarded a throw-in. The hosts restarted quickly and subsequently scored through Hugo Bolin to take a 2-1 lead. Wagner approached Petersen again after the halftime whistle and was shown a second yellow for what was deemed unsporting behavior. The DFB initially sided with Petersen’s matchday assessment. The sports court rejected Elversberg’s first appeal on the grounds that the dismissal constituted a factual refereeing decision and that there was no evidence of an obvious error. Friday’s hearing fundamentally altered that assessment. “In retrospect, I felt my reaction was inappropriate,” Petersen said after joining the hearing via video. “I would not make the decision that way again. I was perhaps too sensitive and misinterpreted the situation.” Former Bundesliga referee Marco Fritz, who now handles rules-related matters for the DFB Schiri GmbH, also concluded that the second yellow had not been warranted. “I can’t identify anything that justifies a second yellow,” Fritz said. “It’s obvious that entering the field wasn’t disrespectful. There’s no indication that he wanted to inflame the situation. I don’t see anything beyond a warning.” Wagner cleared for historic Bayern fixture Wagner welcomed the reversal and thanked Petersen for acknowledging his mistake. The original suspension had also drawn criticism beyond Elversberg. Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen and head coach Vincent Kompany both publicly supported overturning the ban ahead of Sunday’s meeting. Wagner will now be on the touchline as Elversberg face Bayern for the first time in Bundesliga history. The Saarland club enter the fixture with maximum points from their first two top-flight matches. After opening their maiden Bundesliga campaign with a stunning 3-2 victory over Bayer Leverkusen , Elversberg recovered from a 3-1 deficit to beat Gladbach 4-3 last weekend. GGFN  |  Peter Weis