Borussia Dortmund manager Edin Terzic criticized VAR decisions against his team following their 1-1 draw away at league leaders Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday, expressing frustration with the recurring nature of such incidents.
Dortmund claimed an early lead with Julian Ryerson’s goal after five minutes and had a potential penalty appeal just over 15 minutes before the end.
In this instance, Karim Adeyemi went down in the box after contact with Leverkusen defenders Edmond Tapsoba and Exequiel Palacios.
Despite the apparent contact, the on-field referee dismissed the appeal, and it seemed that VAR did not review the incident. Leverkusen capitalized on this turn of events, scoring the equalizer six minutes later through Victor Boniface.
Terzic’s remarks highlight his discontent with the consistency of VAR decisions adversely affecting his team.
Terzic said after the match he was “especially pissed off by the penalty situation with Karim,” saying “it really upsets me, because it’s not fair.”
“It happens to us a lot – and especially to Karim.”
Terzic said Tapsoba “clearly connects with Karim’s shin… I don’t agree and it’s difficult to understand.”
erzic visited the referee’s cabin after the match to discuss the incident, but said he was “not at all in agreement with the way it was explained to me.”
“We were clearly disadvantaged.”
The coach drew parallels between the recent VAR decision and a similar incident in the 2022/23 season. In that instance, during a 1-1 draw at Bochum, Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi was also brought down in the box, but no penalty was awarded.
These recurring situations have left the coach expressing frustration, highlighting instances where crucial decisions, or the lack thereof, have impacted Dortmund’s performance.
The coach’s mention of the team eventually losing the title last season to Bayern Munich on goal difference underscores the potential implications of such decisions on the overall outcome of the competition.
“Look back to the Bochum game where it was also Karim Adeyemi – so when something comes up again like that, we’re very unsatisfied… we’re frustrated today.”
Dortmund end the weekend in fifth place, ten points behind leaders Leverkusen and one spot outside the Champions League placings.