The Bundesliga match was stopped after the goalkeeper was hit by an object from the crowd

The Bundesliga match between Union Berlin and Bochum was stopped for almost half an hour after the goalkeeper of the latter team was hit by an object thrown from the crowd.

Patrick Drewes was hit by what appeared to be a lighter as he prepared to take a second-half stoppage time shot in the 1-1 draw between the two sides at Union’s An der Alten Forsterei stadium on Saturday.

The game was halted while Drewes received medical attention before referee Martin Petersen suspended play and ordered both sets of players to the dressing room.

The game is restarted but no one tries to score. I’ve never seen anything like this before.

— VfL Bochum 1848 (@VfLBochum1848EN) December 14, 2024

The two teams eventually returned to the field, but with Drewes unable to continue, Bochum were forced to put on striker Philipp Hofmann in goal as they had already used all their allotted substitutes.

Once play resumed, neither team tried to win the game and instead decided to pass the ball between themselves to run down the clock.

Hofmann said after the game that both sets of players “agreed not to continue playing,” and said the incident was “not OK at all.”

Ilya #Kaenzig after #FCUBOC:

In our opinion, the referee should have stopped the match. That didn’t happen. We announced that we will finish the match in protest. We will appeal on Monday. pic.twitter.com/uspodGQ0EI

— VfL Bochum 1848 (@VfLBochum1848EN) December 15, 2024

A spokesman for the Federation said the person responsible for throwing the object “has been identified and handed over to the police”, while the club’s sporting director, Horst Heldt, added: “It would be wrong to blame the whole club or the fans for the actions of one individual.”

Ilja Kaenzig, Bochum’s managing director, said the club would appeal the decision not to suspend the game and argued they should have been awarded all three points after being left at a “sporting disadvantage”.