Bochum were declared the winners of the Bundesliga match against Union Berlin on December 14 following a lighter incident, a court of arbitration ruled on Monday, according to dpa information.
The ruling confirmed the decision of the German Football Federation (DFB) to declare Bochum the 2-0 winners. The federation is expected to release a statement later.
"The match was not abandoned, it continued, but the teams involved mutually agreed not to score any more goals. For this reason, the court of arbitration assessed this case as a de facto abandonment of the match," said Udo Steiner, chairman of the court of arbitration.
Their match in Berlin originally ended 1-1. But the DFB declared Bochum winners in two rulings because their goalkeeper Patrick Drewes was hit by a lighter thrown from the Union fan block shortly before the end.
The match was interrupted for around half an hour and then completed without Drewes, with an outfield player having to take his place because Bochum had made all of their substitutions.
Union contested the final DFB ruling and brought the case before an arbitration panel.
The court dismissed not only the Union's appeal, but also those of St Pauli and Holstein Kiel, who like Bochum are fighting against relegation.
"We are glad that the matter is now hopefully and finally settled, and that both clubs can concentrate fully on the sporting challenges of the last three Bundesliga matchdays in the coming weeks," Bochum managing director Ilja Kaenzig said.
Bochum and Union met for their second Bundesliga fixture on Sunday and the match ended 1-1.
For Bochum, the result is something of a last glimmer of hope in their battle against relegation with three league games left.
They are last in the Bundesliga standings and could be relegated for a seventh time already on Friday if they lose the match against also relegation-threatened Heidenheim.
Their only hope of staying in the top tier is reaching the relegation play-off spot, from which they currently sit four points adrift.
For Union, meanwhile, the result doesn't affect their season, as they're already safe from relegation and are not in the fight for the European spots.
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
