The elite referees commission for the DFB has sent a letter to all Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga clubs, in which the sporting directors of each club were reminded of rule 12 of the football rules (forbidden play and unsporting behaviour). Under the rules, a player should receive a yellow card, “if he covers his head or face with a mask or anything similar”. The letter also states that “perpetrators of these rules, which are explicitly stated in football rules nationally and internationally, will be given zero tolerance by referees if they are perceived to have broken them. Every player who covers their head or face, for example with a mask, will receive a yellow card”

The reason for this reminder was the incident in the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 on 28th February and the subsequent discussions about the goal celebrations after the game’s first goal. Goalscorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marco Reus had covered their faces with masks. The goalscorer was shown a yellow card by referee Felix Zwayer but not Reus. Zwayer had only noticed the jubilant goalscorer’s mask.

Herbert Fandel, chairman of the DFB’s refereeing committee and sporting director of the elite commission, explained “emotions belong on the pitch, especially the joy of scoring a goal. We don’t want to seem too inflexible, but we can’t let things go too far. If a player covers his head or face, there is no discretion. This is something that Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga referees and assistant referees will discuss again during a short seminar on 4th-5th March.