15 April 2026: Vincent Kompany hit out in unusually sharp terms at a yellow card which, in his view, he had been shown completely unjustly during the turbulent Champions League quarter-final second leg against Real Madrid. It had simply been "not right", "when you look at what is happening on the pitch, how many people are complaining and what they are saying".
Referee Slavko Vincic booked Kompany for his protests immediately after Kylian Mbappe's goal made it 3-2 to Real Madrid shortly before half-time. The Bayern coach was furious because his defender Josip Stanisic was lying on the ground in Real's half after a painful check from Antonio Rüdiger during the build-up to the goal. Stanisic stayed down for a short while even after the ball went in.
That decision stood and brought bitter consequences for the Belgian: it was his third yellow card in the competition, triggering a suspension for the first leg of the semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain. Afterwards, and even before that, Kompany had vehemently called for a change to the rule.
Kompany wants a rule change on yellow-card suspensions in the Champions League
"In this new league format there are so many games and yet it is still so strict with the three yellow cards," Kompany told DAZN. Before the second leg against Real, Kompany had already spoken out in favour of UEFA adjusting their regulations on yellow-card suspensions in Europe's premier competition. With the current approach, it is "quite difficult" to get through a Champions League season without a suspension. "Three yellow cards for a centre-back - if you get this far and have only had three, you've done a good job. And yet you can still be suspended for the semi-final, I think that's harsh," Kompany said.
UEFA have now acted on the Bayern coach's complaint. In future, a suspension will only follow after a fourth booking. The reason is simple: since the introduction of the league system, there are simply more matches for all participants in a European competition.
