Mohamed Zidan's team were one nil up as Robert Kovac's header crossed the line in the 17th minute, only for Stark to give no goal.

Eventually, Hannover equalized in the second half, but the referee realized his error after the game.

"We set our standards very high, so that makes this even more bitter," Stark said.

"Roman Weidenfeller (Dortmund keeper) and the Jurgen Klopp (coach) both lifted our spirits after the game and told us these things can happen now and then."

Annoying

On the other hand, Croatian defender Kovac lamented his luck after being denied a rare goal.

"It is particularly annoying because, at 2-0 up, the game would probably have gone differently," said Kovac.

"And for me it is annoying because I don't score that many goals."