German football body: Freiburg goal in extra-time should have counted

Freiburg's Lucas Hoeler and Heidenheim's Patrick Mainka battle for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between SC Freiburg and 1. FC Heidenheim at Europa-Park Stadium. Philipp von Ditfurth/dpaThe German Football Federation (DFB) said that Freiburg's disallowed goal in extra-time of the German Cup semi-finals against VfB Stuttgart on Thursday should have counted.

>Lucas Höler's goal would have given Freiburg a 2-1 lead in the 97th minute but it was ruled out due to a foul on Jeff Chabot.

>However, Marco Fritz, head of rule interpretation and evaluation at German top refereeing body DFB Schiri GmbH, said that the situation was a "robust but legal challenge."

>"In the heat of the moment, the referee noticed that Lucas Höler had used his arm in an illegal manner during a tackle on Jeff Chabot. That is why he called a foul and stopped play," Fritz explained.

>"However, based on the TV footage, it would have been much better to judge the duel as a physical but legal challenge, let the game continue, and count Höler's goal that followed immediately afterward."

>Stuttgart eventually won the match 2-1 thanks to Tiago Tomas' goal in the 119th and reached the German Cup final, in which they will face Bayern Munich.

>After the match, Höler told broadcaster Sky: "I'm just trying to position my body. To me, it's absolutely not a foul. I told him (the referee) it was outrageous to call that. And he said it was a crystal-clear decision."