Munich “Bavaria”. The referee made mistakes.

Bayern Munich’s exit from the Champions League at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain sparked a wave of anger at the Bavarian club, with Portuguese referee Joao Pinheiro heavily criticized for several controversial refereeing decisions.

“Bayern” Munich could not win against the guest, PSG, in the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals yesterday, Wednesday evening, settling for a 1-1 draw.

This result is not enough for the Bayern team to qualify for the finals of the continental championship, as they previously lost the first away match with a score of 4-5.

The match witnessed controversial cases of refereeing. In the 23rd minute, Harry Kane’s dangerous run down the left was stopped by the referee for offside, although television replays did not clearly confirm the validity of the decision. He also prevented the game from continuing until video technology returned, denying Bayern a promising attacking opportunity.

A few minutes later, Nuno Mendes handled the ball clearly in a tussle with Konrad Leimer, preventing a dangerous Bayern counterattack. Although the Parisian was yellow carded, the referee did not show a second card, but rather called a foul on Paris for a previous handball on Laimer, a tackle that was not confirmed by television replays, which showed the ball may have hit the Austrian’s stomach rather than his hand.

In the 31st minute, the scene of an argument was repeated in the Paris penalty area, after the ball hit Joao Neves in the arm after his team-mate Vitinha was sent off, but Bayern’s complaints also went unanswered.

Although Uefa regulations state that a handball after a pass by a team-mate on the pitch is not a penalty in such cases, that did not stop Bayern’s bosses from expressing their anger after the game.

The club’s chief executive Jan Christian Driessen criticized the referee’s lack of experience, saying: “It’s amazing that a referee with only 15 Champions League matches can manage a match of this magnitude and maybe that explains some of his decisions.”

Eberle attacks the referee in the Paris clash

As for sporting director Max Eberle, he went further to hint at PSG’s courtesy towards the Portuguese and quipped:

He added, as noted by the German “Spox” website. “For me, the second yellow card could have been shown to Nuno Mendes, but the decision suddenly changed to the other side, and it was a surprise for everyone. As for the touch of the second hand, it was very clear from my point of view.’

He continued by asking what exactly the rule is, no one can explain it to me, but from my point of view it’s a penalty.

Although he acknowledged that Paris played a great game, Eberle stressed that the refereeing decisions cast a shadow over the French team’s progress to the final, adding:

What does the law say?

and:Returning to the International Federation of Football Associations (IFAB) regulations for the 2025-2026 seasonThe Neves case is not considered a violation in most cases for several reasons that are clear in the text of the law;

First, the ball was received directly by a teammate (Vitinha) and at relatively close range, meaning Joao Neves did not have enough time to react or avoid it, which throws in the element of ‘intention’.

Second, the laws distinguish between normal hand position and abnormal body enlargement, and in such cases, if the hand is in normal position and the player makes no additional movement toward the ball, the hand ball does not count.

Third, the official commentary states that if the ball touches a player’s hand coming directly from a teammate, it is not a foul unless the hand is in an unreasonable position or there is no apparent intent.