Gio Reyna has been lauded for his sportsmanship after he turned down a penalty in Borussia Dortmund’s win over Bochum on Saturday.
Dortmund was already up 2-0 as the first half wound to a close, with Reyna having converted from the spot in the 12th minute. The American received the ball and dribbled into the box, where he was brought down by Bochum defender Danilo Soares.
Referee Tobias Stieler pointed to the spot amid strong protests from Bochum players. After the game, Stieler told SPORT1 that two of those players had a message for him from Reyna.
“Two players came to me and said that Reyna had said it wasn’t a penalty for him,” Stieler explained.
Stieler then went to Reyna himself and asked the 19-year-old his opinion of the play.
“I walked past him and asked him if he thought it was a penalty. He then had more of a doubting face. I would interpret he was saying it may not be a penalty,” continued Stieler. “But he didn’t come to me and say that was clear and obviously wrong, please correct that.”
After his brief consultation with Reyna, Stieler indicated that he would go to VAR to review the play. Bochum goalkeeper Manuel Riemann can then be seen approaching Reyna to thank him for his sportsmanship.
“He said to the referee, ‘No foul! No foul!’” Riemann told SPORT1 after the game.
Stieler would overturn the penalty after a brief review.
Bochum’s Twitter account showed its appreciation to the USMNT star after the incident, saying: “Well played, colleague Reyna!”
The overturned penalty wouldn’t have any impact on the result. Just minutes later, Youssoufa Moukoko scored his second goal of the game to make it 3-0, which would end up as the final score.
Watch Reyna turn down penalty
video of Gio Reyna turning down a penalty yesterday. Ref comes up to him to ask if it’s a penalty and he seems pretty indifferent. Ref immediately signals VAR and Bochum GK then thanks Reyna pic.twitter.com/xb4m43SOWL
— Seth Vertelney (@svertelney) November 6, 2022
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