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Referee gives penalty during half time in remarkable VAR decision in Germany

The players had to be called back onto the pitch from their dressing room.
The players had to be called back onto the pitch from their dressing room. The players had to be called back onto the pitch from their dressing room.

A referee called players back onto the pitch during half time to award a penalty, in an extraordinary video assistant (VAR) decision in Germany.

Guido Winkmann had already sent the players to their dressing rooms in Mainz’s match at home to Freiburg in the Bundesliga, when he had to call them back out after a handball was spotted on video replays.

The decision ruled that Daniel Brosinski’s cross had been handled by Marc-Oliver Kempf, and Mainz midfielder Pablo de Blasis duly slotted the unexpected opportunity home to make it 1-0.

The players then returned to their dressing room before returning for the second half.

The response from fans and pundits to the bizarre VAR decision has generally been pretty scornful.

Many fans had concerns about what this could mean we’ll be seeing at this summer’s World Cup in Russia.

The decision proved to be a boon for Mainz though, with de Blasis capitalising on a goalkeeping error in the 78th minute to complete their 2-0 victory.

The huge victory for means Mainz swapped places with Freiburg, taking their place just one spot above the relegation zone.