Referee Sascha Stegemann admits he feels like 's***' after denying Borussia Dortmund a penalty

The referee who controversially denied Borussia Dortmund a penalty on Friday night has described feeling like 's***' in the aftermath.

Sascha Stegemann, 38, made a series of highly controversial decisions in Borussia Dortmund's 1-1 draw, a result which could see Bayern Munich reclaim top spot in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

Most notably, Karim Adeyemi was brought down midway through the second half with Bochum captain, Anthony Losilla, himself admitting it could have been a spot-kick. The German FA issued a statement afterwards admitting it had been a mistake not to award a penalty.

Edin Terzic was eventually booked for dissent late on when he finally appeared to totally lose his rag after a decision late on went against his side.

Stegemann, speaking to WDR 2 the day after the game, admitted to struggling to be able to sleep in the aftermath, accepting he had made a mistake particularly in turning down Adeyemi's penalty claims.

'I'm extremely annoyed, I feel like sh*t. It was a very, very short night [of sleep], I'm not fine with it,' he said. 'You get up with a bad feeling because you're angry that you didn't make the right decision in a scene.

'Looking at it, it's a penalty in the situation with Adeyemi for BVB,' he conceded. 'I didn't see it that way on the pitch.

'As a referee, I have the right to solve the scene on the pitch without using the video assistant unnecessarily.'

The lack of VAR intervention was what appeared to particularly annoy the Borussia Dortmund players, staff and hierarchy.

Terzic, speaking afterwards, questioned further why the tools at the disposal of the referee were not used.

'They weren't just unfortunate decisions, they were absolutely incorrect,' he said, aiming his fury at both Stegemann and VAR Robert Hartmann, neither of whom flagged the incidents.

'What annoys me the most is that [the officials] haven't done everything they could to avoid incorrect decisions. I find that unfair,' continued Terzic.

'My team has been fighting for a long time for the chance to hold the Bundesliga shield in their hands. It could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.'

Borussia Dortmund chief Sebastian Kehl went further, describing the decisions as 'negligent' and 'cowardly'.

'It's a joke that, with the means the referee has at his disposal, with five games to go, when the title is on the line, he doesn't even have a look at [the two penalty claims],' raged the 43-year-old.

'He has to look at them! Is he 100% sure he's got it right? Could there be any discussion?' he queried, rhetorically.

'It's negligent, it's cowardly, it's wrong and it's shameful. The referee decided the game tonight and cost us two points.'

Bayern Munich have the chance to go top of the league with just five games remaining when they host Hertha Berlin on Sunday.