Hertha´s play-off protest dismissed

The German FA have thrown out relegated Hertha Berlin’s appeal to have their play-off with Fortuna Dusseldorf replayed due to fan unrest.

Hertha were relegated to 2.Bundesliga on Tuesday after a 4-3 aggregate defeat, however, controversy marred the conclusion of the 2-2 draw in the second leg of the promotion play-off with play twice halted.

The drama included fireworks being thrown onto the pitch and a half-hour delay with a minute of stoppage time still to play due to Dusseldorf fans prematurely running onto the pitch.

Hertha argued their players were subjected to undue stress in the final minutes rendering the result null and void, but after seven hours of deliberation on Monday, their appeal was rejected.

“The appeal was unsuccessful as no reasonable grounds for an appeal could be established,” GFC chairman Hans Lorenz said.

“The referee reacted in accordance with the laws of the game and Hertha BSC’s claim of a disadvantage because of the match interruption could not be substantiated.”

Hertha have 24 hours to appeal the decision having previously stated they would.