Edin Terzic and Emre Can left frustrated as Manchester City benefit from another controversial refereeing decision
By Tushar Bahl
Emre Can and Edin Terzic were left frustrated after another contentious refereeing decision went against Borussia Dortmund during their Champions League quarterfinal defeat to Manchester City.
Borussia Dortmund were ahead in the tie going into the second half of Wednesday’s second leg. But less than ten minutes after the restart, Manchester City were awarded a penalty when referee Carlos del Cerro Grande adjudged that Emre Can had handled the ball inside the box.
Can told the referee that he had headed the ball onto his arm, and so it shouldn’t have been a penalty. But after a long VAR check, the referee upheld his decision.
Riyad Mahrez converted the spot-kick and Borussia Dortmund never really recovered from it. Phil Foden then made it 2-1 on the night to seal Manchester City’s passage to the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Both Emre Can and Edin Terzic felt that the decision to award Man City a penalty was the wrong one. The Borussia Dortmund head coach said that his side have been vey unlucky with the refereeing decisions over the two legs.
“Handball is always a difficult thing to assess,” Edin Terzic told Sky Sport after the game. “We have referee sessions every year where we are shown what has changed. We were told very clearly before the season: If you head the ball onto your own hand, it’s not considered against the rules.
"“We haven’t been very lucky with the refereeing decisions over the last seven days.”"
“The game clearly changed after the 1:1,” Emre Can said. “I first touched the ball with my head and then it somehow hit my hand. The rules say that’s not a penalty. To have received a penalty against us and maybe because of that, to have lost the game leaves a bitter taste.”
“In the first leg, a goal was taken away from us. It hurts,” Can added.
Former Germany midfielder Dietmar Hamann described the penalty call as a ‘scandalous decision’ on Sky Sport.
Next. Borussia Dortmund player ratings from defeat to Manchester City. dark
The penalty call came just one week after Jude Bellingham was denied a goal for a foul on Ederson, even though replays clearly showed that he had won the ball cleanly. The referee blew his whistle before Bellingham could score into the empty net, so VAR could not be used. And one can’t help but wonder how the tie would have panned out had these controversial calls gone in Borussia Dortmund’s favour.