"It's all the same now" Bayern's Laimer reacts so incredibly cool to a momentous refereeing blunder
A scene in the Champions League semi-final second leg between Bayern and PSG (1:1) caused a stir: in the 29th minute, PSG defender Nuno Mendes should have been sent off with a yellow-red card. However, Konrad Laimer, who was directly involved, was surprisingly cool in his assessment of the scene.
Two decisions by Portuguese referee João Pinheiro caused a stir during FC Bayern's Champions League exit against Paris Saint-Germain. Not awarding a penalty for a handball by PSG player João Neves proved to be the right decision. However, it was much more controversial that defender Nuno Mendes was not sent off in the first half.
"If they get a yellow-red card, everything looks different again," said Bayern's sporting director Max Eberl after the game. "And those are moments that unfortunately weren't on our side today."
"Clear wrong decision"
Specifically, it was about a clear handball by the already yellow-carded Mendes in the 29th minute, when he stopped a dribble by Bayern player Konrad Laimer. Referee Pinheiro, however, ruled that Laimer had played with his hand shortly before that action.
"You could clearly see that the ball hit Laimer's stomach, thigh and hip. As a result, Mendes should have been shown a yellow card. That's a clearly wrong decision," said former FIFA referee Thorsten Kinhöfer as a ZDF expert.
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany sees it the same way: "I watched the pictures three times. And I didn't see a single picture of Konrad Laimer touching the ball with his hand," said the Belgian.
And Laimer himself also said: "The referee whistled for my handball when the action had already happened. I already found that strange during the game. It would have been a very decisive moment if a player had been sent off with a yellow-red card after 20 minutes."
However, the Austrian was reluctant to launch into a major scolding of the referee. "It doesn't matter now," Laimer remained cool. "It is what it is, it was decided that way. It probably could have gone better for us, but unfortunately I can't change it."
PSG follow Arsenal into the final
Bayern only managed to equalize 1:1 in stoppage time through Harry Kane. The Parisians went on to win 6-5 on aggregate and follow Arsenal London into the Champions League final. This will take place on May 30 in Budapest.
