Bayern Munich responds to referee controversy after a draw with PSG, questioning Joao Pinheiro's decisions and a handball no-call on Joao Neves.
There was high tension in the first half of Bayern Munich's match against PSG on Wednesday, with two refereeing decisions that will continue to be discussed.
Less spectacular than in the first leg, the return match between Bayern Munich and PSG was still very heated.
The first and ultimately only goal was scored after three minutes of play, on a strike by Ousmane Dembele. Then, the German club chased the score throughout the match, only equalizing in the final seconds to settle for a 1-1 draw that eliminated them.
The players, coaching staff, and Bavarian executives were very upset after the match. Notably because of a penalty not called for an obvious handball by Joao Neves in the box, where he blocked a clearance from Vitinha.
Enough to allow Jan-Christian Dreesen, Bayern's CEO, to criticize the match referee. "It is surprising, to say the least, that a referee with only 15 appearances in the Champions League is allowed to officiate such a match. That may explain some of the calls made tonight," the German executive suggested.
This discontent is, in any case, not justified by the main action of the match. Indeed, under Law 12, Neves's unintentional handball did not have to be called because the ball came from one of his teammates.
And aside from situations where it allows him to score a goal, this type of handball is not called under the laws of the game when it is unintentional, obviously.
This is not the only decision by Joao Pinheiro that is causing talk in Munich. Indeed, on a play where Nuno Mendes committed a handball that could have warranted a second yellow card, the referee ultimately followed his assistant and awarded PSG a free kick for a prior handball by Konrad Laimer, who had taken the ball with his stomach.
And a red card for Mendes in the first half would have certainly changed things, which somewhat explains Bayern Munich's anger over this return leg.
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