Turpin, the choice that irritates

Often criticized in Ligue 1, Clément Turpin remains more than ever in the small papers of those responsible for arbitration on the UEFA side. The French referee’s performances have also convinced them to award him the match which will pit Bayern Munich against Real Madrid this Tuesday (9 p.m.). But the appointment of the official was not to please the Bavarian club whose recent past with Clément Turpin still sticks in its throat.

If he refereed Bayern eight times in the Champions League, the referee especially left his mark on Munich’s minds last season. The case dates back to April 19, 2023, during a quarter-final return against Manchester City. That evening, Clément Turpin first released a red for Dayot Upamecano, before reversing his decision. A few minutes later, the referee whistled a penalty for a supposed handball from the Bayern defender. So many choices which caused Thomas Tuchel to panic, the German coach being sent off at the end of the match.

Hoeness quips

So obviously, when Munich learned that UEFA had appointed Clément Turpin to referee the match on Tuesday, April 30 against the Merengue, he reacted rather badly. Quoted by The Team in today’s edition, Uli Hoeness made a scathing remark against the Frenchman. “ It will still be difficult to do worse than last time. » And the honorary president of Bayern was not the only one to target him since the chairman of the supervisory board of the German club, Herbert Hainer, also released a sweet word.

“ We must hope that Mr. Turpin just had a bad evening, but his appointment does not reassure us. » A little extra pressure puts on the official who has never, however, refereed a match at the end of which Bayern Munich lost. It now remains for Thomas Tuchel’s troops to do what is necessary on the pitch to try to take an option before a return which will inevitably be heated at the Bernabeu on May 8.