Borussia Dortmund Boss Lucien Favre Claims Referee Was Wrong to Show Red Card in Hoffenheim Draw

Borussia Dortmund manager Lucien Favre has claimed that the referee was wrong to brandish a red card to Abdou Diallo in their game against Hoffenheim on Saturday.

Dortmund fought back to draw the game 1-1. The draw was a fair result, however, the biggest talking point from the game was the sending off of Diallo. The Frenchman was shown a straight red card after he was deemed to have fouled Andrej Kramaric just outside the area, however, on second viewing it looked a harsh decision.

Speaking after the game, Favre insisted that the referee had made the wrong decision, as reported by the club's official website, saying: "That was not a red-card foul."

Dortmund were not at their best on the day and Favre admitted that despite not playing well he is satisfied with the result.

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"We had a decent foothold in the first 25 minutes – but then we weren't good for a long spell. Every loss of possession led to a dangerous counter-attack for Hoffenheim. After 60 minutes we woke up again and played the ball forward a little more, and things gradually got better.

"After the red card everyone thought it was over for us. And yet we still came back. We can be satisfied with a 1-1 draw. We know that."

Before the game, Dortmund would have been aiming for a win against a struggling Hoffenheim side, however, given what happened in the game die Schwarzgelben did well to come away with a point.

These types of games normally decide whether or not a team have what it takes to challenge for the title, and on this showing, it seems as though Dortmund are still some way off winning their first Bundesliga title since 2012.

Up next for Dortmund is a midweek fixture against newly promoted Nurnberg at the Signal Iduna Park, a game in which die Schwarzgelben will be favourites to win.