Two hands, yellow-red and a penalty?
“Huge mistake”: Anger because of the referee at the Bayern game
May 6, 2026 – 10:24 p.mReading time: 3 minutes
It gets loud in the first 45 minutes of the semi-final second leg between Bayern and Paris. In focus: the referee.
The semi-final second leg of the Champions League between FC Bayern and Paris Saint-Germain only took a few minutes to infuriate TV expert Michael Ballack. During the half-time break, his colleague, world champion and current TV expert Sami Khedira also raged – but because of a different scene.
What had happened? With the score 0-1 from Munich’s perspective, Bayern’s Josip Stanišić played a long ball from his own half to striker Harry Kane (29th minute). The Englishman was free, the flag remained down, but the whistle suddenly sounded.
“He can’t whistle that away. That’s another huge mistake,” rumbled Ballack, who sat down as an expert next to commentator Max Siebald in the stands at the Allianz Arena. Paris’ Nuno Mendes stood deep, his foot apparently in line with Kane. “The referees should let it go, why is he blowing the whistle now?” asked the former national striker.
And further: “We saw the slow motion, it was very tight and he (Kane, Note d. Red.) runs towards the goal alone.” What would have happened then is a different matter, but the referee João Pinheiro, who is only refereeing his 15th “premier league” game, “wasn’t allowed to blow the whistle on his own.”
Ballack’s conclusion: “That’s a huge mistake by the referee. That shouldn’t happen at this level.” But that’s not enough. Just a few minutes later, the next excitement on the Munich sideline: Mendes, who had already been booked, clearly touched the ball with his hand (29th). Bayern, led by furious head coach Vincent Kompany, demanded a second warning and the associated sending off for the Parisian. And referee Pinheiro? The referee decided on a free kick for the guests. He claims to have seen a handball from Konrad Laimer beforehand.
