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Disaster for FC Bayern? UEFA has apparently made a decision regarding Joshua Kimmich and Michael Olise

After receiving yellow cards, it was speculated that Kimmich and Olise could face longer suspensions. But now both players and FC Bayern can breathe a sigh of relief.

Joshua Kimmich and Michael Olise will not be handed lengthy suspensions by UEFA that would affect a possible Champions League quarter-final first leg, according to reports by Sport 1 and L'Equipe.

Accordingly, there will be no further investigations against the two key players of FC Bayern following the incidents in the first leg of the round of 16 against Atalanta Bergamo (6-1). A suspension beyond the standard penalty for a third yellow card in the current competition is therefore off the table.
Although UEFA looked into the incidents, it did not find any serious misconduct on the part of the two players. Kimmich and Olise will therefore only miss the return leg against Bergamo next Wednesday.
With the score at 6-0, both players deliberately picked up their third yellow cards in the final quarter of an hour for time-wasting when taking set pieces. They wanted to avoid a suspension for a likely quarter-final against Real Madrid or Manchester City.

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Kimmich "annoyed" about yellow card suspension - Gräfe predicts suspension
While Olise was as taciturn as usual after the match, Kimmich at least provided an explanation for his yellow card that UEFA apparently found acceptable. In all TV and mixed zone interviews, he pointed out that he had no passing options when taking a free kick in his own half and did not want to play into the opposition's pressing. He also said he was annoyed about the caution because he is the type of player who wants to "play every game".
Former top referee Manuel Gräfe recently expressed doubts about this account on the social media portal X. Although Kimmich's explanation of the situation in which he was shown the yellow card was a "good attempt", it would not stand up to scrutiny by UEFA. "UEFA will look at the footage and see that the ball was playable at the start (Tah was unmarked)," Gräfe explained.
Kimmich "could have played a long ball, and since Bayern otherwise build up very close to their own penalty area and press a lot, the argument is unlikely to be convincing," Gräfe argued. To make matters worse, the score was 6-0, so there was no reason to waste time, and therefore "anything other than an investigation and suspension would be surprising."
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Sergio Ramos sets a precedent at Real Madrid and becomes a laughing stock
However, this will apparently not happen, even though there is a precedent from 2019. At that time, Sergio Ramos, playing for Real Madrid, deliberately earned himself a yellow card in the 2-1 victory in the first leg of the round of 16 against Ajax Amsterdam and openly admitted it.
"It's not that I underestimate the opponent, but sometimes you have to make these decisions and that's what I did," Ramos said afterwards, and as a result he was not only suspended for the second leg, but also for a possible quarter-final first leg. But it didn't come to that. Ajax demolished the Royals 4-1 in the second leg, and Ramos became a laughing stock with his provoked yellow card suspension.