Bayer Leverkusen's 2-1 Bundesliga win over Hoffenheim last week helped by a phantom goal will not be replayed despite the ball going in through a hole in the netting, Germany's sports court said on Monday.
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In a decision which the court admitted may not be satisfactory to fans, the Hoffenheim appeal was rejected because there was at no point a violation of the rules by the referee.
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Leverkusen striker Stefan Kiessling's 70th-minute header flew just wide of the post and hit the side netting but went through a hole and ended up in the goal.
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Referee Felix Brych awarded a goal after consulting his assistants, putting Leverkusen 2-0 ahead at the time and triggering an outcry over the blatant mistake and the need for goalline technology in Germany, a tool already in use in other domestic and international competitions.
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"The decision may be unsatisfactory from a sporting point of view but it is according to the rules and laws," judge Hans Lorenz, who heads the German football association's (DFB) sports court told reporters in Frankfurt.
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"Referee Felix Brych took an incontestable factual decision. The claim that he broke rules was dropped by Hoffenheim even during the process."
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Lorenz, who said goalline technology could have been a help in this case as it has for ice hockey, said mistakes did happen but there was no violation of rules.
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"The factual decision may have been wrong but it was irrefutable. Wrong factual decisions are part of the system."
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Lorenz had earlier heard testimony from Brych and Kiessling as well as the assistants and two Hoffenheim groundsmen. He had also greeted last season's Bundesliga top scorer with a humorous comment.
Losing a game in times like this would be disastrous. Every team must always learn how to score goals @ d rite time