During Real Madrid's home match against Bayern Munich, a controversial refereeing decision sparked widespread discussion. In the 71st minute of the game, a contentious incident occurred: after Mbappé completed a dribble in an attacking move, Bayern centre-back Jonathan Tah stepped on his ankle during defensive actions. Despite VAR intervention and review, the foul was ultimately only punished with a yellow card.
In the post-match broadcast, renowned former La Liga referee Mateu Lahoz expressed incomprehension at this decision. He believed that such an action would most likely result in a straight red card in Spanish league matches. "This was a reckless decision," he said.
Lahoz also mentioned that prior to this incident, he thought match referee Michael Oliver had performed "excellently" overall, particularly handling Aurélien Tchouaméni's multiple fouls appropriately. However, regarding Tah's action, he believed there was a deviation in the refereeing standard. "Fortunately, no injury was caused, but such a stamp occurred in a dangerous area, and it's hard to understand why it wasn't a red card." Additionally, he pointed out that the referee team did not conduct a further check on the downed Mbappé at that time. "If more careful handling had been carried out then, I'm afraid the VAR colleagues would not have been able to sit still." Lahoz also noted that UEFA Referees Committee Chairman Roberto Rosetti had clearly stated before that such actions should be punished with red cards, “but this standard was not enforced this time.”
In the end, the match ended with Real Madrid losing 1-2 to Bayern Munich, and UEFA generally approved of the referee's performance in this match. In response to this, Lahoz said: “I was surprised that no red card was shown. The refereeing standards in domestic leagues and the Champions League do not seem to be completely consistent.”
Real Madrid head coach Álvaro Arbeloa also raised questions at the post-match press conference. When a reporter asked: "Aurélien Tchouaméni's absence from the second leg will undoubtedly be a heavy blow to the team..." Arbeloa bluntly expressed his dissatisfaction with the refereeing decision: “We have reliable candidates who can take his place. I don't know what the referee saw at that moment, nor do I know what he saw when Mbappé was brought down by Tah. That should obviously have been a red card...”
