The match eventually continued and the score remained 1-0 until the final whistle.
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Understandable as referee Zwayer’s actions may have been, it’s fair to say the whole kerfuffle caused some confusion.
Borussia Dortmund closed the gap on Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich to eight points thanks to their 1-0 victory away at Bayer Leverkusen this afternoon.
Zwayer awarded a free kick, which Matthias Ginter quickly took.
Aubameyang missed the biggest chance of the first half just before the break when he fired wide with only the goalkeeper to beat after he was set up by Christian Pulisic.
Schmidt was given his marching orders by the referee but he refused to leave the pitch, with Zwayer deciding the best course of action was to postpone play in the 65th minute.
The incident would occur directly after Dortmund scored the opening goal of the game; with the Leverkusen players unhappy that Pierre-Emeirck Aubameyang’s effort should have been disallowed, owing to the free-kick that lead to the goal taking place in the wrong spot.
“Dortmund were clearly perplexed by the decision judging by their Twitter post of “???
After a prolonged period of negotiations, the two teams re-emerged without Schmidt and the match resumed around eight minutes later.
He also sent Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt to the stands.
So the referee, as he was entitled to do, made a decision to temporarily abandon the game because of Schmidt’s refusal to move.
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Zwayer opted to suspend proceedings as players and officials left the field, with striker Stefan Kiessling sent to discuss the matter with his coach.
