THW Kiel is annoyed about the video evidence decision in the northern derby against Flensburg

After the frustrating final point in the dramatic 31:31 in the 117th North Derby against SG Flensburg-Handewitt, there was frustration and incomprehension at the handball record champions THW Kiel. "In my personal opinion, I don't see anything that would make the referees have any doubts and therefore go to video evidence," said THW circuit runner Hendrik Pekeler and asked perplexedly: "Of course this rule exists, but what prompted them to go there?"

With the last action, national player Julian Köster scored the supposed 32:31 for Kiel and caused a cheering atmosphere at the THW. But the referees watched the video images for minutes and refused to recognize the goal because the provider Domen Makuc had made a step error.

“We agree that these are steps from cathedrals. But I would actually be interested in the reasons why the referees went to the video evidence and where they were not sure,” said Pekeler.

Flensburg shows understanding for Kiel's frustration

THW managing director Viktor Szilagyi assessed the scene similarly. «I was very surprised by the decision. Apparently everything is according to the rules. You have to decide whether it helps the sport. I don't know what justification you have for watching the scene and then going back a few scenes," he said.

There are “many, many situations like this in a game. The fact that you then go back two scenes is of course bitter. “It just hurts right now,” says Szilagyi. He hopes “that at some point we will get an explanation for this.”

Even Flensburg, who maintained their lead in the table thanks to the draw thanks to a better goal difference over Kiel, who had the same number of points (both 11:1), showed understanding for their rivals' frustration. «It's a really hard decision. I understand Kiel and I understand the hall. If it had been the other way around, I might have been angry too,” said SG backcourt player Simon Pytlick.

The technical error was clearly visible. “But you can often find steps in the game,” said the Danish world and European champion and added: “From a sporting perspective, I don’t know whether it was the right decision because something like that happens very often in the game.”