The issue of yellow card suspensions in the quarter-finals had already been a major concern for FC Bayern. Joshua Kimmich, Michael Olise and Dayot Upamecano had already picked up two yellow cards ahead of the first leg of the round of 16 in Bergamo. When the match then took a decidedly one-sided turn in favour of the record champions, with a 6-0 lead on the scoreboard at one stage, Kimmich and Olise, at least, reacted by time-wasting, earning themselves suspensions for the second leg.
A circumstance that was certainly the subject of heated debate, at least amongst the German public. Because Kimmich and Olise were accused of deliberate behaviour, quite a few people speculated that this might have further consequences and that the two key players might be suspended not for one, but for two matches.
A two-match ban imposed by UEFA on Sergio Ramos in 2019 following the first leg of Real Madrid’s round of 16 tie against Ajax Amsterdam (2-1) served as a precedent. In a post-match interview, Ramos openly admitted to having deliberately picked up the yellow card. “It’s not that I underestimate the opposition, but sometimes you have to make these decisions and that’s what I did,” Ramos said at the time.
Kimmich, Olise and all the Bayern players who were subsequently questioned about the incident handled the situation more wisely. Whilst Olise was, as usual, rather taciturn after the first leg in Bergamo, Kimmich at least provided an explanation for his yellow card that UEFA apparently found plausible, which is why no further investigations were launched against either of the Munich players.
In all his 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. Furthermore, he was actually annoyed about the booking because he is the sort of player who wants to “make every game count”.