Bayern Munich are out of the Champions League. There were two handballs not given. A yellow carded player handled the ball and denied a goal-scoring chance, yet remained on the field of play. The VAR were watching, it seemed to review it briefly, and then do nothing. Ring any bells?
Barcelona have been here before. Just three weeks ago it was them.
What happened to Bayern
It started to turn at the 30-minute mark when Nuno Mendes seemingly handled the ball to cut out a dangerous Bayern attack. Despite being on a yellow card, the Portuguese defender escaped a second booking and subsequent dismissal after the referee awarded a free-kick to the visitors instead.
In the next incident, the ball hit Joao Neves' extended arm in the PSG box following Vitinha's clearance from close range. Although appearing unintentional, there was clearly hand ball contact with the Portuguese's arm raised and Bayern felt they were denied a potential penalty. VAR didn't get involved despite seeing the ball clearly hit the hand of Neves.
Bayern lost 1-1 and 6-5 on aggregate, and failed to reach the Champions League final. The football was good. The refereeing wasn't.
The technical explanation for the Neves handball, given by UEFA, stated "it is not a handball offense if a player is hit on the hand or arm by a ball played by a teammate, provided it doesn't lead directly to a goal or immediate scoring opportunity. And the position of the hand or arm is not unnatural and not making the body abnormally bigger." While there is a rule, you question whether it applied correctly to the circumstance.
Barcelona know this feeling intimately
During the first leg of their quarter-final clash with Atletico Madrid, Istvan Kovacs missed a blatant handball inside the six-yard box by Marc Pubill that appeared to have stopped the ball from entering the goal and failed to award a penalty. Neither VAR nor the referee made any call.
One incident alone across two legs was not going to get them their hearing. This was the entire case, listed publicly by Laporta. It included the wrongful sending off of Pau Cubarsi, the alleged handball by Pubill, the expulsions of Eric Garcia, a debatable penalty call not made to Dani Olmo and the foul committed on Fermin that required stitches to his upper lip without a card issued.
Two formal complaints were sent to UEFA from Barcelona. The first dismissed on grounds of inadmissibility and the second stated the continued errors were causing sporting and financial damage. Vice President Yuste bluntly stated "Having 6 people from the refereeing body in one game, 6 errors of that magnitude cannot occur."
Both appeals were rejected.
The pattern that no one wants to name
This is not a conspiracy. This is a systemic failure and protection mechanism.
Three weeks ago Barcelona and Atletico Madrid were involved in a Champions League quarter-final and this week Bayern and PSG have been in a semi-final; both directly affected by refereeing decisions. VAR had the power to overturn both decision and they failed in each instance.
The incensed players in Kane's side could not fathom why the handballs were not penalized given the string of other recent controversial handball penalties given in competitions all across Europe this week. Theis level of sheer inconsistency is damning.
What must be done
The lack of punishment for controversial decisions handed down to Barcelona should be a good indication of how UEFA will respond to the complaints from Bayern Munich, dismissing them with prejudice. There is no accountability in the current system and it is unlikely to change.
PSG will take to the field at the final in Budapest on the 30th May against Arsenal, deserving to be in the biggest club competition final on footballing terms. But there is clearly something in the competition that denied both Barcelona and Bayern their rightful path to the final, which UEFA have no inclination to listen to.
This is what Flick said of Barcelona's demise at the hands of Atletico, "I don't know why VAR didn't intervene. It's unbelievable." Last night Vincent Kompany could say exactly the same about Bayern.
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