• Manchester City qualified for the semi-finals of the Champions League thanks to its draw on the lawn of Bayern Munich (1-1), Wednesday night.
  • The match was marked by two highly questionable penalties awarded by the referee of the match, Clément Turpin.
  • The decisions of the French whistle and his video assistants are apparently at odds with the new Ifab rules regarding hands in the box.

"It ruins the fun." Difficult, Wednesday night, not to share the analysis of Habib Beye on Canal, who regretted at the end of this Bayern-City very animated that the match was polluted by refereeing decisions more than questionable. The two penalties whistled by Clément Turpin for really (really) unintentional hands certainly did not have an influence on the final result, Erling Haaland having had the good idea to miss the one offered in the first half when the score was still 0-0 and Bayern was doing everything to start the operation up, but this should not hide the aberration of the decisions of the French whistle.

As too often since the introduction of VAR, the referee seemed stuck in a regulation and video support that extinguish any discernment. We take stock of the reproaches made to Clément Turpin, regulations of the Ifab (the International Board in charge of the rules of the game in football) in support.

1- The peno against Bayern Munich

The context: We have just spent half an hour of play, Bayern, who have three goals to go up after the first leg, got two, three big chances to open the scoring and start the remontada. It's not happening yet, but the Bavarians haven't died yet. On a Mancunian foray into the opposing camp, Gundogan unleashed a strike repelled by Sommer. Turpin whistles, in general incomprehension. We need the slow motion to see that Upemacano has deflected the ball out of his hand.


The question: Shouldn't the referee take into account Upamecano's intention to tidy up his hands as best he can?


The answer: YES. This was precisely the objective of the IFAB when it took care in an update of the regulation in March 2021 to specify in which cases it was necessary to whistle hands in the surface and which should not do so. After recalling beforehand that "any contact of a player's hand or arm with the ball is not an offence", the Board explained that there was a hand only if the contact is "not justified by the movement of the player's body for this specific situation". The French defender could not have done much better at the time.

In addition, referees are now clearly asked to "use their judgment" rather than systematically whistle. Clement Turpin should therefore have taken into account Upamecano's attitude, the fact that his deflection had no influence on his trajectory and Sommer's stoppage, and the timing of the match, while there was still a semblance of suspense.

2- The peno against Man City

The context: We play the 80th minute, Bayern understood for a long time that they would not see the halves. On a breakthrough in the corner of the box, Sadio Mané, in the duel with Manuel Akanji, center as he can before the ball crosses the line. Clément Turpin points to the corner point, but suddenly asks the shooter to wait. His colleagues in the video truck have reviewed the image and are asking him to go check for himself. Stuck, the French referee is obliged to award the penalty.

The question: Did the video assistants do the right thing to intervene?

The answer: NO. Ten times no. Again, the IFAB has made this clear in its development. "We stress to VARs that they should only intervene if a referee has made a manifest error or missed a serious incident." Not to whistle on this ball that accidentally lands on the hand of the City defender in the corner of the box cannot be considered a manifest mistake. Or as Michael Ballack told DAZN, "if it's a penalty, you can stop football."


3- Bonus: Thomas Tuchel's red

The context: 86th minute, Aymeric Laporte climbs on Kingsley Coman and almost strangles him not to let slip the Frenchman on the counter. Foul whistled, yellow logical for the defender of City, but Tuchel comes out of his hinges. It is not the fault that is beyond him, but the fact that Ruben Dias went through to send the ball into the stands to buy time after the referee's whistle. The German enters the field to yell a good shot at Turpin, who responds by sending him to join the ball in the stands.

The question: Did Tuchel deserve to be excluded?

The answer: We love him very much, but yes, for all of his work. Excited, the German spent his match screaming at everything that moves like a Marc Madiot watching Thibaut Pinot play the win at the top of the Tourmalet.

  • Football
  • Champions League
  • Bayern Munich
  • Manchester City
  • Arbitration
  • Video refereeing
  • Sport