The clash between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain will leave as many traces for its intensity as for the refereeing decisions that affected it. After an anthology first leg concluded with a spectacular (5-4) in favor of the Parisians, the return leg at the Allianz Arena was expected to be a peak of tension and football. She kept all her promises in the game, but also in controversy. Between contentious hands, unsolved situations and multiple misunderstandings, the Bavarians believe they were wronged at key moments of a double confrontation where every detail weighed heavily. The final draw (1-1), synonymous with qualification for PSG, only amplified this feeling of injustice on the German side.
Because beyond the score, it is an accumulation of decisions which fuels Munich’s anger. From the first period, several situations in the Parisian area caused the Allianz Arena to jump, without VAR intervention or sanction deemed sufficient by the locals. In a match where Bayern dominated possession and relentlessly pushed to come back, these facts of play appear, in their eyes, as missed turns. The frustration is all the greater as the overall difference between the two matches remains tiny, reinforcing the idea that the refereeing could have had a direct influence on the outcome of this Champions League semi-final.
Bayern are screaming at all levels
In the heat of the moment, the Bavarian leaders did not mince their words, pointing out an arbitration deemed unworthy of such a level of competition and calling for a clear questioning of the authorities. “UEFA must do better, this is not acceptable at this level of football. If it’s not a penalty, then I honestly don’t know what VAR is for anymore. We’re told it exists to correct egregious errors, yet situations like this are simply ignored. At this stage of the competition, these decisions are too important to be misjudged or overlooked. There has to be consistency, there has to be clarity — right now, that’s not enough. Everyone in football deserves better than this“. Same story for the other leader, Jan-Christian Dreesen: “It is astonishing, to put it mildly, that a referee with only 15 Champions League appearances would be allowed to officiate such a match. And that might explain some of his decisions today.”.
On the bench, the speech is more nuanced, between real frustration and recognition of the overall level of the confrontation, as if to underline that everything was not decided solely by the whistle. “We found ourselves in many dangerous situations, but when it came time to cross or play the last pass, PSG defended very well. It took us a long time. The score was 1-1. We must obviously mention the arbitration decisions. If we had won this match, it would have looked like PSG hadn’t done everything they usually do. There are refereeing decisions that we don’t like. But great respect for PSG and congratulations. We have a totally different opinion (on our hands). The red card, apparently for Konrad Laimer; They think he touched the ball with his hand, but I haven’t seen any footage to prove that. It may exist, but I haven’t seen it. If you’ve seen a significantly superior team, you have a better view than I do. I saw two equally matched teams fighting fiercely. These refereeing decisions cannot decide between the teams“, declared Vincent Kompany.
Finally, on the ground, incomprehension dominates, with the diffuse feeling that certain key moments escaped all logic for the actors themselves, notably Konrad Laimer. “You don’t feel it during the match itself. I thought I played the ball with my stomach, and then Mendes with his hand. The referee blew the whistle for a hand strike against me five seconds later. It’s really strange. Things could have gone much better for us today, including the other hand on JoĂŁo Neves. Since when does the fourth referee intervene in the match? I’ve never experienced this before. But that’s none of my business; I can’t change anything now anyway. It would have been a decisive moment if PSG had lost a player so early. In matches like these, everything depends on a few small details. I always felt that we could turn things around. But today, that wasn’t enough. It’s really hard“. When cold, the anger will give way to analysis, but the traces will remain. In this type of European summit, everything is played out at the margins and each decision becomes a tipping point. Bayern will have to digest, understand and move forward.
