The German league has officially awarded both of Wolfsburg's goals in a 2-0 win over Stuttgart to striker Edin Dzeko, even though a teammate had already scored one of them.
Dzeko scored the second of the goals but the German Football League (DFL) has now also given him the opener, despite the ball having first crossed the line after a header by Denmark defender Simon Kjaer. The ball bounced back into play and Dzeko put it back into the net in Saturday's Bundesliga match.
Referee Markus Wingenbach did not see that Kjaer's header had crossed the line and wrote Dzeko's name in his notebook. The DFL decided on Monday to go with the official match report.
Wingenbach said: ''From our perspective the first ball was not in goal. There were doubts and that's why we let play continue.''
However, the confusion has renewed calls for goal-line technology that would prevent such mistakes.
''I was always for it,'' Wolfsburg's general manager Dieter Hoeness said. ''The most elementary decision for a referee is to decide whether the ball was in or not.''
Wolfsburg coach Steve McClaren said he supported such technology as well, which he said was understandable with him being from England - whose national side he used to coach. England, under Italian coach Fabio Capello, did not have a clear goal allowed in a second round loss to Germany at the World Cup.
In Saturday's game, television replays showed that the ball was well behind the line after striking the underside of the crossbar before it bounced back into play.
''I think the ball was already in but I put it back into the nest just to be sure,'' Dzeko said.
Kjaer said he was hoping the goal would be awarded to him since it would have been his first in the Bundesliga.
The ruling gives Dzeko seven goals this season. He topped the Bundesliga with 22 goals last season and had 26 the year before, when Wolfsburg won its first title.
