Hardly anyone could understand Slavko Vinčić’s penalty whistle. Bild: imago / PA Images
Champions League
It wasn’t the referee’s fault that Leipzig was kicked out of the Uefa Champions League: After an impressive 1-1 draw in the first leg, the Saxons went down 7-0 in Manchester on TuesdayErling Haaland even marked a five-pack.
Erling Haaland scored five times against Leipzig.Image: imago / district photo
“We were more or less eaten up,” said Benjamin Henrichs on Amazon Prime, shocked by the level of bankruptcy. “I think City more than deserved to win today,” RB coach Marco Rose had to admit after the game. Therefore, it is also “not the right time to look for excuses or alibis.”
Nevertheless, a referee’s decision subsequently caused heated discussions: After the questionable handball in the 22nd minute, some Uefa stars even attested to a systemic problem in dealing with supposed handball.
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“A joke number”: Harsh criticism for penalty whistle and VAR intervention
When the score was 0-0, a cross sailed into the Leipzig penalty area, where Rodri headed the ball from behind into Henrich’s arm in an aerial duel with Henrichs. Referee Slavko Vinčić didn’t see it, not even the City players complained.
But then the video assistant referee (VAR) intervened, asked Vinčić to the review area and the Slovenian referee actually pointed to the point after a short review of the scene. Haaland gratefully accepted the gift and made it 1-0.
Referee Vinčić (right) shows Henrichs a yellow card.Image: www.imago-images.de / Sportimage
In retrospect, no one could understand the decision. “You need this arm movement to jump up,” ex-Bundesliga referee Wolfgang Stark defended RB defender Henrichs. “I would have decided to continue playing because it was a natural movement for me,” explains Stark on Amazon Prime.
Either way, it wasn’t a “clearly wrong decision”, so Stark sums it up: “For me, the VAR procedure is not okay.”
Wolfgang Stark refereed 84 European Cup games himself at the time.Image: imago sport photo service / /Eibner
Henrichs also reported on a conversation with the referee after the game: “I didn’t notice anything about the handball on the field. The referee said he didn’t really see it either, but he was told so. When the referee then decides through the video evidence and no longer has power on the pitch… that’s how football has become.”
At Amazon Prime Video, Matthias Sammer got excited about the “joke number” at halftime. He couldn’t understand how “such catastrophic decisions” could be made at such a level. “In big games, there must be clear decisions,” Sammer demands in the direction of Uefa.
Stars call on Uefa to rethink
BVB star Mats Hummels can’t go on like this either: “We need a change in the decision-making process for hand penalties,” Hummels demands on Twitter. “This is going in the wrong direction at the moment.”
Dortmund could hardly believe their own elimination from the Champions League.Image: imago / district photo
There had already been a controversial hand penalty when BVB left a week ago, which – unlike the Leipzig exit – was even decisive for Dortmund’s defeat. In the game against Chelsea it was Marius Wolf who touched the ball with his arm in his own penalty area. Even then, hardly anyone could understand the penalty decision
Ex-Bundesliga referee Manuel Gräfe has since given up on the subject: “Hand penalty after VAR: I can’t think of anything anymore,” he said on Twitter after the Leipzig game.
Manuel Gräfe was one of the most popular Bundesliga referees among players.Image: dpa / Tom Weller
“Meanwhile we are in handball in football like in hockey with the foot: Every tiny contact is whistled. And that’s not the rule, it’s the interpretation,” Graefe complained about his Uefa colleagues. It is clear to him why the fans don’t like it: “You always get the impression that something is right.”
However, this problem occurs not only in the European Cup, but also in the Bundesliga: Only last weekend did the VAR refer to a handball in the game between Hertha and Mainz that was not visible to the naked eye.
For Dazn it was the most important game of the year so far. The employees of the streaming service agreed on this before the round of 16 second leg between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.
