Borussia Dortmund boss Sebastian Kehl defends Jobe Bellingham's red-card in Freiburg draw

Dortmund had been leading when Bellingham was shown a straight red card after bringing down Philipp Treu as the last man. The incident followed a misplaced pass from goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, which sent Treu through on goal and left the 20-year-old with a split-second decision to make.

Speaking after the match, sporting director Kehl backed the England Under-21 international and stressed that the situation was the result of several small errors rather than one player alone.

"Jobe was disappointed as well. He thought about how he could have handled the situation better," Kehl said. "It was a chain of events, it was avoidable. In that action there are many things you can do better. Jobe tries to save it. Someone always ends up being involved, this time it was Jobe."

Kehl also made it clear that Dortmund felt in control before the dismissal and believed the outcome would have been different with eleven players on the pitch.

Goalkeeper Kobel was equally open in accepting responsibility for the moment that changed the game. The Switzerland international admitted his pass had put Bellingham under unnecessary pressure.

"I have to see that better, I have to help Jobe there. I'm sorry for him," Kobel said. "In the end I'm happy to take the blame, that's okay."

Despite playing with ten men for a long spell, Dortmund defended resolutely but were eventually pegged back, settling for a point that felt frustrating given their position before the red card.

READ MORE: AFCON 2025: Full fixtures, groups, venues and knockout format explained