REFEREE SHOWS ETHAN NWANERI RED CARD IN ERROR

Referee Daniel Schlager mistakenly showed Arsenal loanee Ethan Nwaneri a red card seconds into Borussia Dortmund’s Bundesliga match against Union Berlin on Saturday. Schlager had pulled out the wrong card after Nwaneri caught Tom Rothe with a late challenge. He corrected the decision to a yellow card, allowing Nwaneri to continue. Dortmund and Union Berlin drew 0-0. Borussia Dortmund substituted Nwaneri in the 62nd minute.

The match was Nwaneri’s fourth consecutive Bundesliga start since his summer loan move from Arsenal. He has recorded neither a goal nor an assist in those four matches. Ruhr Nachrichten rated his performance 5/10 and criticised his decision-making. Ruhr 24 praised his attacking effort but also questioned his decisions, while BVBWild gave him 4.5 on a scale where one is the best rating. Goal described Nwaneri as Dortmund’s most dangerous player during his time on the pitch, while Ran cited poor ball control and inaccurate finishing in its assessment.

Nwaneri has yet to play more than 65 minutes in a Bundesliga match this season. Dortmund sporting director Nils-Ole Book criticised the team’s attacking play after the draw. “We’re disappointed. We wanted to do a lot more,” Book said. He said Dortmund needed more courage across the pitch to get behind Union Berlin’s defence and had started doing so too late.