Bayern Munich was knocked out of the UEFA Champions League after a 6-5 aggregate loss to Paris Saint-Germain. The second leg, a 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena, was marred by significant refereeing controversy.
A key flashpoint occurred when referee João Pinheiro appeared to miss a potential second yellow card for Nuno Mendes after a handball. Instead, the whistle blew for a Konrad Laimer handball moments later.
“For me, it was clearly a second yellow card and then a red. Absolutely clear! Somehow, we got a call against us and that incident is, of course, a game-deciding moment,” stated Vincent Kompany, who dedicated three minutes to discussing the Laimer handball decision.
“I’ve seen the replays three times,” the Belgian added. “Perhaps you’ve seen different ones? I haven’t seen a single image where Konrad Laimer touches the ball with his hand. Is that right? Has anyone here seen different images? No?
“There are at least 50 people here. Not one person says that they’ve seen a different image. Well, I was ten metres away. I didn’t even get the feeling that Konni touched the ball with his hand. It was quite clear that he moved his hip around it, that he controlled the ball with his hip.”
Another contentious moment involved PSG midfielder João Neves handling the ball in the penalty area. While some argued that, according to IFAB regulations, a penalty should not be awarded for a handball by a teammate clearing the ball, Kompany disagreed, pointing out, “The own player was ten metres away!”