Danish Referee Jakob Sundberg Owns Up to Error in Superliga Clash

Referee Jakob Sundberg Concedes He Missed a Penalty Call in Favor of FC Midtjylland Against Brondby (CTK/imago sportfotodienst/Gonzales Photo/Morten Kjaer)

Danish referee Jakob Sundberg admits to missing a penalty call in the Superliga match between Brondby and FC Midtjylland.

Danish referee Jakob Sundberg has conceded that a penalty should have been awarded to FC Midtjylland's Mikel Gogorza during Sunday's Superliga match against Brondby. In the late stages of the game, Gogorza was involved in a tussle with Brondby's Nicolai Vallys, which resulted in Gogorza falling to the ground after Vallys appeared to pull him down inside the box.

Vallys himself acknowledged that the incident resembled a penalty. However, Sundberg chose not to award the penalty, leaving Gogorza and FC Midtjylland coach Thomas Thomasberg perplexed and upset over the decision.

Sundberg has now publicly addressed the incident, admitting that he made an error. His acknowledgment comes after widespread criticism of the missed penalty call, which had significant implications for the outcome of the match.

Referee Morten Krogh has publicly admitted that he made a mistake in not awarding a penalty during a recent match between Brondby and Herning. “I have reviewed the situation and, together with my team, have come to the conclusion that it would have been most correct to award a penalty,” Krogh stated in an interview with (link unavailable)

Jakob Sundberg erkender, at der burde være dømt straffe til Mikel Gogorza i søndagens kamp mellem #Midtjylland og #Brøndby, hvor Vallys river ham ned i feltet. Stærkt af en dommer at stå ved sine fejl – det fortjener ros. #fcmbif #sldk pic.twitter.com/180yPpWwlP

— Superliga Spottet (@SldkSpottet) April 2, 2025

Krogh explained that his initial assessment on the pitch was that the two players were engaged in a legitimate fight for the ball. “On the pitch, I assessed that the two players had a legitimate fight for the ball, and unfortunately I was unable to see the situation as I was behind a couple of players,” he said. However, upon further review, Krogh realized that the limit for acceptable contact had been exceeded.

Krogh acknowledged that while players often use their arms to a limited extent in such duels, the specific situation in question constituted an illegal foul. “There is a general acceptance that players use their arms to a limited extent in these types of duels, but in this specific situation the limit had been reached, and this is an illegal foul,” he noted. As a result, Krogh believes that VAR should have intervened, and he should have been called to the screen to award a penalty. “This means that we can unfortunately conclude that VAR should have intervened, and I should have been called to the screen in order to award a penalty,” he said.

The match ultimately ended in a 2-0 victory for Brondby in Herning.