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"Decisions that make no sense!" Real Madrid feel they were severely disadvantaged by the referee against FC Bayern

Álvaro Arbeloa caused a stir with his scathing criticism of the referee following the defeat to FC Bayern.

He described Real Madrid’s 1–2 defeat as unfortunate and stressed that the loss could have been avoided “with a bit more luck”. However, the Spaniard was particularly incensed by referee Michael Oliver and two “decisions that are impossible to understand”.

FC Bayern vs. Real Madrid: The ratings and individual reviews

From Arbeloa’s point of view, there was, for one thing, the yellow card that Aurelien Tchouameni picked up in the 36th minute, which means he will miss next Wednesday’s return leg. “That’s a significant loss for a card where I don’t know what the referee saw,” Arbeloa fumed.
However, he didn’t really have much cause for complaint. Tchouameni had tripped up the surging Michael Olise, which Oliver quite rightly judged to be a tactical foul and consequently punished with a yellow card.
Jonathan Tah’s unfortunate challenge on Kylian Mbappé in the 71st minute, however, was certainly debatable. The Bayern Munich defender caught Mbappé on the Achilles tendon with the sole of his boot during an aggressive challenge, and Oliver settled for a yellow card.

Arbeloa calls for a red card for Tah following his tackle on Mbappé
"Personally, I think it’s still okay, but only because his foot is still relatively low," said refereeing expert Lutz Wagner on Amazon Prime, describing the incident as "very borderline". Meanwhile, Prime expert Benedikt Höwedes praised Michael Oliver for his tact and sensitivity in assessing the situation. "That fits perfectly with the line he’s taking today. He’s staying true to himself and is actually spot on with every decision."
Arbeloa, however, saw things quite differently after the match. "I don’t know how he [Tah, ed.] didn’t get a red card for the foul on Mbappé; these are decisions you just can’t understand," railed the 43-year-old, who had only taken over as coach of the Royals from Xabi Alonso during the course of the season.
AFP
FC Bayern are not awarded a penalty following a foul on Michael Olise
Arbeloa had a point, at least regarding Tah’s challenge; however, given the referee’s performance, he wouldn’t have been justified in complaining if Oliver had pointed to the spot in stoppage time and awarded Bayern Munich a late penalty. Alvaro Carreras clearly brought Michael Olise down in the Madrid penalty area after the latter had controlled the ball well with his chest, but Oliver waved play on.
“It’s true: Real Madrid shouldn’t have complained about a penalty,” said Wagner on the incident, though he also defended Oliver: “He let a few other incidents of a similar nature go – which is why I thought it was consistent. So this incident was in keeping with his approach, even if, viewed in isolation, it’s naturally open to debate.”
Despite Los Blancos’ first home defeat against FCB since 2012, Arbeloa was far from ready to throw in the towel. "If any team can win in Munich, it’s Real Madrid. We know how tough it is there, but we’ll give it our all," said the Real manager defiantly: "I admire my players’ ambition. Anyone who doesn’t believe in that can stay in Madrid. We’re going to Munich to win."