There’s real fire in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final — and not just because PSG extended their aggregate lead to two goals with an early strike. By now, fierce debates have already broken out over no fewer than two decisions by Portuguese referee Joao Pinheiro.
First, the ball hit the hand of already booked Nuno Mendes near the halfway line. However, because the referee had spotted a handball by Konrad Laimer a few milliseconds earlier while controlling the ball, PSG were awarded a free-kick instead of Bayern. Had the call gone Bayern’s way here, there likely would have been serious talk of a second yellow and a red card (29’).
The red-and-white protests were even more vehement two minutes later. In an attempted clearance inside his own penalty area, Vitinha blasted the ball onto the hand of his teammate Joao Neves. Many — especially those backing the Bavarian giants — would have loved to see a penalty given here. Unsurprisingly, things got very loud at the Allianz Arena.
But the referee’s whistle stayed silent, and VAR did not intervene either. Presumably the correct call, because if the ball is being cleared out of the box and that is stopped by a teammate, it is one of the criteria for a non-punishable handball.
That said, the interpretation of the handball rule is — as we all know — a science in itself anyway. Bayern certainly don’t feel they’ve been treated fairly.
What do you think? How would you have ruled in the two controversial situations? Write it in the comments!
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.
