Ballack then lost his temper. On the one hand, because Kane was almost certainly level with Nuno Mendes; on the other, because the VAR could have intervened in what was potentially a match-deciding moment, had there been an offside.
"The referee blows his whistle before the assistant has even raised his flag—he just can't do that. That's a huge error." The officials should have let the play run. Why did he blow the whistle? Kane was through on goal. What happened next is another matter, but the referee should not have intervened."
In the 29th minute, Pinheiro was back in the spotlight in only his 15th Champions League match: Nuno Mendes, already on a yellow card, halted a Bayern counter-attack with a clear handball. Instead of showing him a second yellow, the referee inexplicably called an earlier handball on Laimer. Replays suggested the Austrian had controlled the ball with his stomach and thigh, meaning a clear misjudgement that cost FCB a potential 60-minute numerical advantage.
"The referee is once again interfering in this wonderful football match and changing the balance of play. Bayern were clearly disadvantaged here," Sami Khedira told DAZN.