The stars of FC Bayern Munich took the anger over this missed penalty with them into the night.
“I know what the referee wants if he lets things continue, but I don’t think he can ignore the laws,” said leading player Thomas Müller after the 2-2 draw in the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League Arsenal FC. “What you have to remember is that this can be decisive for the game and we actually can’t put up with that.” A referee is there to implement the rules.
What was meant was a scene in the second half in which Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya played a goal kick to Gabriel, who was positioned in the six-yard box. The Brazilian picked up the ball in his hand, put it back on the turf and passed it back to Raya, the game continued. Referee Glenn Nyberg from Sweden blew the whistle shortly before the goal kick was taken.
Kane: The clearest penalty
“We should have had a clear penalty when the referee blew his whistle, the goalkeeper passed the ball and Gabriel took it in his hand. That’s the clearest penalty I’ve ever seen,” said star striker Harry Kane.
The referee told the players that it was a kid’s mistake and that he wouldn’t whistle that in a quarter-final of the Champions League, reported coach Thomas Tuchel. “This is a completely new form of rule interpretation.” Joshua Kimmich said that for him it wasn’t a “childish mistake, in the end it was crucial and bitter that we didn’t get him.” Tuchel also criticized the fact that the Arsenal professionals could complain “however they want”.
Excitement in the final minute too
On the Bayern side, the late upset when Bukayo Sako fell in the penalty area after contact with Manuel Neuer in stoppage time was not a topic of conversation to the same extent. Nyberg clearly decided against a penalty – and ended the game quite abruptly a little later. The hosts would have really liked this penalty a week before the second leg in Munich.
