No Bayer-Hoffenheim replay after Kiessling's ghost goal

The DFB has rejected Hoffenheim's appeal against the striker's phantom goal despite admitting that the decision to award it may have been incorrect

The DFB has decided there will be no rematch between Bayer Leverkusen and Hoffenheim despite the "ghost goal" scored by striker Stefan Kiessling.

During the match, which ended 2-2, the attacker hit the side of the net via a header, but the ball went in through a hole, with referee Dr. Felix Brych deciding to award the goal to Leverkusen.

A sports court assembled by the German football governing body decided on Monday that the match will not be repeated after Hoffenheim appealed against the decision by the official.

"The question isn't whether this judgement satisfies us from a sporting perspective," judge Hans E. Lorenz explained.

"From a legal point of view, there is no alternative. There are no grounds for the appeal.

"The factual decision may have been incorrect, but it is irrevocable."

The incident once again raised discussion about when the Bundesliga will introduce goal-line technology, but the head of the German football league, Andreas Rettig, suggested that will not happen before the 2015-16 season.

"At the moment, according to our assessments, there is no perfectly sophisticated system," he told Bild. "Fifa currently still accepts a fault tolerance of three centimetres.

"The technology will be introduced on July 1, 2015 at the earliest."