Alphonso Davies concedes a penalty for Bayern Munich (Image: TNT/X)
Alan Shearer slammed UEFA’s handball rules when a controversial spot-kick was awarded to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night. Les Parisiens hosted Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-final, with Sandro Schaller officiating the match. At the end of a thrilling first half that saw goals from Harry Kane, Hviča Kvaratschelia, Joao Neves and Michael Olise level the score at 2-2, Alphonso Davies appeared to have carelessly handled the ball inside his own penalty area.
Ousmane Dembele tried to play the ball into the box, but the ball hit the full-back’s leg and hit him in the arm. Dembele immediately appealed for a handball, but Schaller initially waved it away. However, after VAR intervention prompted Swiss officials to review footage on pitchside monitors, they reversed their original decision and awarded PSG a penalty.
It didn’t take long for Shearer to take aim at UEFA’s competitive rules and express his displeasure with the ruling. “If you look at the recoil on his arm, to me it shouldn’t be a penalty,” he said in a commentary on Amazon Prime Video.
“He’s forgiving. I don’t agree with that, I really don’t agree with that. If it falls off his leg and onto his arm, that’s a different story for me. If it hits his arm, okay, I might accept it. But if it falls off another part of his body into his arm, what’s he going to do?”
Former referee Mark Clattenburg agreed, saying: “Alan, I agree with you, but we’ve seen it many times over the last two seasons. It’s something we always discuss and it’s very controversial.”
“But when you look at what it came out of its body, the legs on the arms, even if the arms were off the body, I don’t believe they should be given, and I agree with Alan.”
In a characteristically frank assessment, Mr. Shearer shot back: “I think handball is nonsense. I think handball has been locking itself up for years trying to get to a level playing field. And I don’t think that’s the case, but yeah.”
PSG led 5-2 by the 58th minute, with Kvaratschelia and Dembele scoring twice for the French hosts at the Parc des Princes.
However, Dayot Upamecano narrowed the gap in the 65th minute with a header from a free kick to make it 5-3. The French defender’s goal made it the first semi-final in Champions League history to score eight goals in a single leg.
In an intense game of football, Luis Diaz was found onside by a VAR check, making it 5-4 with 22 minutes remaining. The linesman initially did not allow the Colombian to finish.
And so the match in Paris ends, with Bayern aiming to overturn PSG’s advantage next Wednesday (6 May) at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
