As Alphonso Davies scored a goal in the 94th-minute, Bayern Munich painfully won 3-2 aggregate over Celtic to confirm their place in the Champions League round of 16. Still, the game was not controversy-free. As Dayot Upamecano seemed to make contact with the winger and send him falling, there were inquiries on a possible foul on Celtic’s Daizen Maeda in the goal runup. Although Maeda recovered without any obvious problem, referee Benoit Bastien ignored Upamecano’s assistance. Since VAR is only allowed to analyze occurrences during the attacking phase of play, this ruling matched IFAB rules.
VAR’s Decision: Why The Maeda Incident Was Not Reviewed
Though not wholly evident, it is probably true that the attacking phase of play (APP) was reset between Daizen Maeda’s fall and Alphonso Davies’ defining goal. The reset could have happened when Leroy Sané picked up the ball before Michael Olise’s cross to Thomas Müller resulted in the goal. Moreover, VAR only steps in on “clear and obvious” mistakes or “serious missed incidents,” and the referees did not believe the Maeda challenge qualifies for these standards. Since the event was not seen to be violent, VAR had absolutely no right to step in; IFAB regulations prevent referees from making “no decisions” in order to prevent excessive inspections.
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Celtic Focuses On Performance Despite Controversial Incident
Not concentrating on the possible foul, Celtic captain Callum McGregor rather lauded the phenomenal effort and show of his team. He stressed that the athletes should be proud of their performance notwithstanding the unfortunate score. Manager Brendan Rodgers noted the occurrence and said Upamecano cleverly swiftly picked Maeda up. More experienced team could have been down, so making the referee stops the match, Rodgers agreed. Play carried on, hence Bayern’s definitive score introduced. Though they were let down, Rodgers and McGregor kept looking at the good stuff from Celtic’s performance.
