Bayern Munich's CEO criticises lack of experience of referee in Bayern vs. PSG match

Vincent Kompany felt that there was "a hand tilting always to the wrong side for us".
Text: Javier Escribano
Published 2026-05-07

Bayern Munich lost the Champions League semi-final to Paris Saint-Germain, and just like Atlético de Madrid the previous night, the coach, the club's executives, the fans and the local press are protesting over refereeing decisions, thinking they have been deprived of opportunities.

Bayern's coach Vincent Kompany said that "it felt like there was a hand that tilted it always to the wrong side for us", complaining about two actions in the first half where he feels PSG's Nuno Mendes should have seen a second yellow card for handball (ruled out because there was a foul right before, same story as in the Atleti-Arsenal), and another handball by Joao Neves, clearly touching the ball with his hand after a kick from a PSG teammate (which was not called because it was not a shot on target and the ball came from a player of the same team).

"Why is it not a red card? I don't understand. Why we concede a penalty in Paris and we don't receive one here? I understand the rules, I get it, it's your own player, kicks it out, but the hand is above his head", complained Kompany, but said that the referee decisions took nothing from the quality of PSG.

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And Bayern Munich's CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen went even further pointing directly to referee João Pinheiro's lack of experience. The 38-year-old Portuguese referee, who works in the Primeira Liga since 2015 and is listed as international referee by FIFA since 2016, lacks the experience needed for such an important game. "It's astonishing, to say the least, that a referee with only 15 Champions League appearances is allowed to officiate such a game. And that might explain some of the calls he made today", the CEO said.

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