Bayern Munich Had 12 Men On The Pitch Vs Freiburg, Game Temporarily Halted

There was controversy in the Bundesliga this afternoon after Bayern Munich fielded 12 players on the pitch for a brief period.

The league leaders beat Freiburg 4-1 away from home, with Leon Goretzka, Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman and Marcel Sabitzer all on target in the win.

But the victory was overshadowed by a bizarre situation where Bayern accidentally had an extra man for around ten seconds in the period.

Kingsley Coman was supposed to be substituted but an error with the electronic meant 29, his old number, was visible.

The Frenchman wears the No.11 these days and so had no idea he was being replaced.

Discussions ongoing for Bayern potentially having had 12 men on the pitch temporarily.....

This is confusing

— Bavarian Football Works (@BavarianFBWorks) April 2, 2022

5 minutes left in the Bayern game, a substitution issue happened where there was 12 men on the pitch, the refs took five minutes to discuss it because they straight up did not know what to do because that doesn’t really happen in soccer, it ended up just a regular free kick

— Nick Razum (@spazum720) April 2, 2022

Bayern having 12 men on the pitch, officials discussing it for five minutes and there being no punishment. pic.twitter.com/iNAYZnw8ik

— Dirty (@Dirty1313) April 2, 2022

Literally 12 men on the pitch playing for Bayern earlier. The officials seem lost.

— Aizzuddin Muis (@theaizoo) April 2, 2022

Sabitzer had entered the fray but Coman had no left the pitch and so there were 11 Bayern outfielders on, until the referee realised and brought a halt to proceedings.

There was then a lengthy delay as officials looked to resolve the issue and liaised with both benches. No serious punishment was required for the oversight and Coman did eventually head off towards the bench.

8 minutes of stoppage time was signalled and Bayern made it count as Sabitzer, the man who took Coman's place, added gloss on the win with a 96th minute strike.

Manager Julian Nagelsmann addressed the problem in his post-match press conference, stressing that the confusion had no bearing in the grand scheme of things.

Julian Nagelsmann explains the sub problem was an electronic board problem. #29 appeared on the board (there’s no #29 for Bayern) instead of 11 (Coman.) So Coman had no way of knowing. Nagelsmann said there were no attacking situations that occurred amid the confusion. #SCFFCB

— Derek Rae (@RaeComm) April 2, 2022

Nagelsmann said he spotted the problem immediately. No influence on the game but took a while to sort out.

— Derek Rae (@RaeComm) April 2, 2022

Nagelsmann emphasises again at the press conference that there were no game deciding scenes in the 8 or 9 seconds when they had 12 on the pitch. Then the issue was dealt with. Came down to the wrong number on the board.

— Derek Rae (@RaeComm) April 2, 2022

Bayern moved nine points clear at the top of the table ahead of Borussia Dortmund, who lost 4-1 to RB Leipzig in the evening kick-off.

The Bavarian outfit now turn their attentions to the Champions League quarter finals, where they play the first leg away against Villarreal on Wednesday.