Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany, while showing himself to be a gracious loser after their Champions League exit against PSG, also made his lack of understanding regarding the interpretation of the handball rule clear.
In the first leg, shortly before halftime, Bayern left-back Alphonso Davies received a ball to his thigh which then struck his arm. The referee awarded a penalty, which Ousmane Dembele converted to make the score 3-2 at the time.
On Wednesday, the Portuguese referee Joao Pinheiro did not award a penalty in the first half when PSG midfielder Joao Neves’ arm was struck by a clearance from his teammate Vitinha. «The ball doesn’t go from the body to the hand, but directly to the hand. Whether it’s from your own player or not – that’s a bit of nonsense, a bit foolish,» Kompany stated to DAZN.
The fact that the referee in Munich applied the interpretation desired by UEFA did not make the Bayern coach any happier: «The rules are as they are. That’s a shame,» he commented. Furthermore, there was also a potential yellow-red card for PSG left-back Nuno Mendes for handball that was not given, leading Kompany to summarize: «You can’t describe these two incidents as anything other than ‘very game-deciding’.»
After a 4-5 aggregate defeat in the first leg, Munich found themselves trailing after just three minutes in the second leg and tried everything. However, they could only manage a late equalizer from Harry Kane in the 94th minute. «Of course, the referee’s decision in Paris still hurts us, because in the end, you lose by one goal,» Kompany reflected once more on the penalty awarded against Davies.
Kompany on PSG: «They were just very active»
At the same time, the Bayern coach also proved to be a good sport. «I have the ability not to be disappointed for long. Life goes on,» he stated clearly.
He praised the defending champions from Paris for their performance in Munich, where PSG defended consistently around their own penalty area and allowed very few clear chances for Munich. «PSG defended the crosses incredibly well. They always defended the space behind them well, they were just very active,» Kompany highlighted about the opponent.
PSG always managed to get a foot in, shining with a lot of running – even in the final stages. «Even though we got into dangerous situations, they still managed to prevent us from getting those shots off,» Kompany explained as one reason why his team couldn’t turn the tie around and reach the final.