Mats Hummels was very sure of himself. “Zero percent penalties. Zero!”, commented the Borussia Dortmund defender minutes after the 1-1 (1-0) in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 at PSV Eindhoven.
The 35-year-old veteran saw the fact that referee Srdjan Jovanovicnach pointed to the spot after his alleged foul play and thus deprived BVB of the victory as a clear wrong decision. “We are on the completely wrong path in this regard. Unfortunately, I have the impression that the VAR has made the referees worse. I used to think the referees were better,” complained Hummels on Amazon Prime.
Hummels first played the ball during a tackle in his own penalty area, but then also hit opponent Malik Tillman. PSV captain Luuk de Jong converted the penalty in the 56th minute and thus canceled out Dortmund’s lead through former PSV professional Donyell Malen (24th). “We are in a Champions League round of 16. You have to expect the highest level from the referees,” complained the central defender, who was brought into the team at short notice to replace the sick Niklas Süle.
BVB sports director is also angry
Hummels wasn’t the only Dortmund player who took a hard line against the referee and the VAR team. “The annoyance is very great. When you have decisions like that against you that are not 100 percent correct, it hurts,” said Sebastian Kehl. The BVB sports director accused the Serbian referee of not having watched the scene again on the TV on the sidelines: “He knows how important the game is. In that situation he could have watched it, perhaps even should have.”
BVB coach Edin Terzic even referred to similarly unsatisfactory incidents in the past: “This has been with us for a while now. It is the third time that we are discussing the referee after a game in the knockout phase of the Champions League.” The Dortmund coach probably meant the penalty whistles against BVB in March 2023 in the duel with round of 16 opponents FC Chelsea and in April 2021 in the quarter-finals against Manchester City. Like Kehl, he referred to the referee’s unwillingness to check the scene via TV: “Our wish remains that people use the screen. That’s why we have him at our side. He was sure, but we think it’s a very good decision hard.”
