Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel has expressed his fury at Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg's failure to award a penalty for a "kid's mistake" during Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg clash at Arsenal. Tuchel focused on a 66th-minute decision - with the score at 2-1 to Bayern - when David Raya played a goal kick short to Gabriel and the Arsenal defender picked the ball up with his hands before attempting to restart play even though the ball was live. Bayern protested but nothing was given.
"For
me, for all of us, he made a huge mistake not giving the handball
penalty," said Tuchel afterwards. "I know it is a crazy situation but
they put the ball down, he whistles, he gives the ball and the defender
takes the ball in his hand. What makes us really angry is the
explanation on the field. He told our players that it is a 'kid's
mistake' and he will not give a penalty like this in a quarter-final.
This is a horrible, horrible explanation. He is judging handballs. Kid's
mistake, adult's mistake. Whatever. We feel angry because it is a huge
decision against us." (Source: ESPN)
In the early days of VAR there were some notable situations where, according to the IFAB, interventions happened against the spirit of the protocol. Perhaps the most infamous example came in the 2. Bundesliga fixture between Holstein Kiel and VfL Bochum in October 2019 when a substitute conceded a penalty. Kiel's Michael Eberwein was warming up behind the goal when Bochum's Silvere Ganvoula M'boussy dragged a shot wide. Eberwein touched the ball before the whole of the ball had left the field of play, and the VAR intervened to give a penalty to Bochum. In law that was the correct decision, but the IFAB insisted VAR was not intended to penalise such a minor infraction. Obviously that incident involved a player who wasn't involved in the game while Gabriel was on the field, yet it gives an impression of how the IFAB views infringements which might be correct in law but perhaps not in the spirit of the game. (Source: ESPN)
