Bayern Munich's 6-1 demolition of a Champions League opponent was extended into an open-ended fixture on Saturday, with the Allianz Arena floodlights kept burning and the fourth official instructed to let play continue until further notice.
Luis Diaz, who had already completed a hat-trick, was sent back out for a fourth goal, then a fifth, then a sixth, as the visiting bench was gradually converted into a queue of players waiting to be substituted into a game that no longer had a clock. «We felt the scoreline was still a little modest for the occasion,» said a Bayern official, «so we have decided to keep the ball in play until the opposition bus is repossessed.»
By nightfall, the away team's supporters had been issued numbered wristbands and told to return in shifts. A second scoreboard was erected above the south stand to track Diaz's personal tally, which by Sunday morning had outgrown the display's capacity and was being updated by hand on a whiteboard carried along the touchline.
Bundesliga officials confirmed that the fixture would now count as a permanent installation, with season tickets reissued to include the ongoing second half. The visiting goalkeeper was last seen asking a steward for directions to the exit and being handed a bib instead.