FC Bayern failed dramatically in the semi-finals of the Champions League. The referee’s performance in particular raises questions.
The triple dream has shattered. FC Bayern missed the Champions League final after two thrilling semi-final duels with Paris Saint-Germain. There are also sporting reasons for this – but not only. It is extremely bitter, actually scandalous, that the semi-final second leg, which Bayern ended 1-1 on Wednesday evening, was ultimately decided by a more than questionable refereeing performance.
In the spotlight: João Pinheiro. Two hand scenes worth discussing, no yellow-red card for PSG star Nuno Mendes, plus a missed penalty for Bayern. And even if the penalty that wasn’t given despite João Neves’ handball was correct according to the official interpretation of the rules because the ball came from the teammate: the vast majority of football fans simply no longer understand these interpretations of the rules.
Ex-Bundesliga referee Manuel Gräfe later summarized in “Bild”: “We don’t make the rules for the referees and the associations, but for the footballers. And they have to be able to understand the hand rules. That’s a penalty and must always be a penalty.”
It is a farce that there is now more debate and discussion about refereeing performance than about sporting performance on the pitch. A week ago in the first leg against PSG (4:5) there was a questionable penalty against Bayern when a cross landed on Alphonso Davies’ arm, but the ball had previously touched his thigh. Or in the quarter-final clash against Real Madrid: there were some contentious scenes in both games. In the second leg (4:3 for Bayern), Antonio Rüdiger had fouled Josip Stanišić before Kylian Mbappé’s goal to make it 3:2 – but there was no whistle.
And UEFA clearly has to question itself here: the referee Pinheiro has never been involved in any major tournaments. On Wednesday evening he only refereed his 15th premier class game, the eighth this season. The fact that the European Football Association is appointing a relatively inexperienced referee for a semi-final is a joke – and doesn’t do the whole thing justice.
Bayern had to learn this the hard way. When coach Vincent Kompany was shown the questionable scenes again on DAZN after the game, all he could do was laugh in pain at the decisions. You can understand his reaction.
