Union's Eta frustrated by offside interpretation despite first point
· Yahoo Sports
Marie-Louise Eta picked up her first point as Union Berlin's interim coach but was frustrated that Cologne's opener in the 2-2 draw was allowed to stand after the referee's interpretation of the offside law
An offside Said El Mala tried to reach a through-ball from Kristoffer Lund but then stopped his run. Referee David Schlager's assistant Stefan Lupp raised his flag, but Schlager allowed Jakub Kamiński to play on and ex-Union player Marius Bülter scored.
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"The assistant referee raises his flag and players naturally react accordingly," Eta told reporters on Saturday.
Union's defence also acted differently because of El Mala's run.
But Eta, whose Bundesliga side are still not safe after her third game in charge, also acknowledged her team had broken a cardinal sin of football.
"Of course you still have to keep playing if the referee's whistle doesn't come," she said.
Schlager explained his interpretation to Sky TV.
"For a sanctionable offside position to exist, one of three criteria must apply. First he has to play the ball - he doesn't. He has to be in a challenge with an opponent for the ball. That is also not the case. Or he has to influence the opponent in the contest for the ball. That also doesn't apply," the referee alleged.
The fact the assistant raised his flag suggests he thought El Mala was interfering.
But the referee said the assistant should have waited.
"This is a topic we will work through. The flag went up a bit too early," Schlager said.