Vincent Kompany has criticised the refereeing across both legs of Bayern Munich’s Champions League semi-final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, claiming that a combination of key decisions cost his side a place in the final against Arsenal.
Harry Kane’s late equaliser in Munich was not enough to prevent a 6-5 aggregate loss, with Ousmane Dembélé’s third-minute strike proving decisive. However, Bayern were left furious when PSG defender Nuno Mendes avoided a second yellow card for a deliberate handball in the first half, and again when a penalty appeal for a handball by João Neves was turned down.
“We have to look at some of the phases that were decided by the officials across the two games which … it’s never an excuse for everything but it matters,” Kompany said. “If we look at both legs probably too much went against us. The guys gave everything and we tried against a fantastic PSG team.”
The Bayern boss believed that common sense should have prevailed over the handball incidents. “João Neves’s hand is in the air, it hits it. Because it’s from his own teammate it’s not a penalty. … A little bit of common sense and it’s just ridiculous,” he added.
Kompany also suggested that referee João Pinheiro was reluctant to send off Mendes after spotting a prior handball by Konrad Laimer. “I felt he pulled out because he realised he already gave him a yellow and he didn’t want to send him off for that,” he said.
PSG manager Luis Enrique, meanwhile, looked ahead to a final against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal. “It’s going to be different,” he said. “They have been performing the whole season at a high level, they were unbelievable. We want to continue making history in Paris.”
