When does a handball result in a penalty and when does it not? According to Thomas Müller, it's very hard to follow. Bayern Munich was denied a penalty in the Wednesday night Champions League match against FC Copenhagen.
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Partly due to a penalty reversal, the score remained 0-0 at the Allianz Arena. The draw against the Danes ended Bayern's stunning winning streak in the group stages of the Champions League. The German record champion had won its last seventeen group matches in Europe's top competition.
After the game, the focus wasn't so much on the lost points. Bayern was already assured of winning the group. However, Müller had some comments about the refereeing. Referee Stéphanie Frappart reversed her decision to award a penalty to the home team after VAR intervention in the closing stages. Copenhagen defender Peter Ankersen had, in a duel with Bayern talent Frans Krätzig, inadvertently blocked the ball with his arm from close range.
'I wouldn't have given a penalty for that handball either,' Müller said on DAZN, where he pointed out that it was very strange that Paris Saint-Germain had received a penalty in a similar situation the day before. In that case, following the VAR's advice, a penalty was awarded after Newcastle United defender Tino Livramento had unintentionally blocked the ball with his arm from close range.
Müller: 'I'm not a fan of the rules. It's crazy that initially no penalty was given and then it was, and now it's the opposite. That just doesn't make sense. The rule makers now want to create objective handball rules. But that doesn't work with handballs. Let the referees decide, just like with normal fouls.'
Updated: 12:05, 30 Nov 2023
