The question is as old as the game itself: When is a handball intentional and when do footballers instinctively touch the ball with the forbidden part of their body? And when can they simply not help it because they are being shot at what feels like 30 centimeters at 120 kilometers per hour?
In the truly memorable 2-2 draw in the second division game on Sunday afternoon in the Avnet Arena, no one had to wonder whether Gideon Jung from Fürth after just under a quarter of an hour and Daniel Heber from Magdeburg just before half-time intentionally played the game with his hand – both of them raised without one in their own box Simply pick up the ball from the ground while the game was not interrupted. Consequently, there were penalties in each case.
It was fitting for this crazy game that the Fürth team equalized a 2-0 deficit after 18 minutes – and thus followed coach Alexander Zorniger’s instructions after two recent defeats in Braunschweig and at home against Düsseldorf. He had clearly demanded that the team “now get started with points again”. At least that worked, even if the coach’s big goal remained unfulfilled: “We want to go there and win.”
Like the “kid’s mistake” between Arsenal and Bayern, only this one is punished
The game was lively from the start, Julian Green aimed just wide to the right (6th), while on the other side Connor Krempicki narrowly missed the ball (7th). Then the first part of the comedy followed, when Fürth goalkeeper Nahuel Noll caught the ball just in front of the goal line and held it in his gloves for what felt like ten seconds before throwing it at the feet of defender Jung. He didn’t hesitate for long and picked up the ball. “I immediately noticed that I wasn’t really in the scene and thought there was a goal kick, even though there wasn’t one,” Jung said on Sky after the game. The scene was reminiscent of the Champions League quarter-final first leg in April between Arsenal and FC Bayern, when London defender Gabriel made a similar faux pas. Referee Glenn Nyberg called it a “kid’s mistake” and did not whistle a penalty.
That certainly existed in Magdeburg and Mo El Hankouri used it – but only in the margin – to make it 1-0 (15th). The cloverleaf was now visibly unsettled, El Hankouri put through for the Dutchman Martijn Kaars and he beat Noll for the second time (18th). Shortly afterwards, the Fürth keeper was able to prevent the 3-0 with a strong save against Kaars (24th).
Zorniger strengthened his defense with fresh forces, but the turning point in the game came with another strange hand penalty: Roberto Massimo was brought down just outside the Magdeburg penalty area, the ball continued to roll and was picked up with his hands by defender Heber inside the box. Since the game had not yet been interrupted, referee Bastian Dankert had no choice but to award a penalty for this as well. “I just wanted to prevent the free kick from being taken quickly,” said offender Heber. “That has to go down in history, there have certainly never been two scenes like this in one game and one half.” Green didn’t take long to make it 2-1 (42′).
After the change it was much less spectacular, Fürth worked on the equalizer, first Massimo hit the crossbar with his head (50th), then Jomaine Consbruch, who had recently been substituted, made a rustic effort to win the ball, Noel Futkeu picked up his pass and scored from left into the far corner to make the final score 2-2 (75′).