Mats Hummels: Sending off the wrong call but Mahmoud Dahoud also at fault

Mats Hummels felt that the referee’s decision to send off Mahmoud Dahoud during Borussia Dortmund’s 1-0 defeat to Borussia Mönchengladbach was the wrong one. But the midfielder should never have given him the opportunity to do so in the first place.

Borussia Dortmund suffered a 1-0 defeat to Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga on Saturday. The pivotal moment of the clash came in the 40th minute, when Mahmoud Dahoud was shown a second yellow card by referee Deniz Aytekin.

The sending off meant that the already weakened Borussia Dortmund weren’t able to mount a comeback and they ended up losing ground to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga title race as a result. The Black and Yellows now find themselves four points behind Bayern in the league table.

Mats Hummels spoke about Mahmoud Dahoud’s sending off after the game. And while he said that the decision to send him off was wrong, he also felt that the midfielder made a mistake by giving the referee the opportunity to make that call.

"“I think Mo knows he screwed up big time there,” Hummels told Sky. “I hope it never happens again. There is no excuse for it.”Then after looking at the replay of the incident, Hummels added: “Let’s put it this way, it’s stupid to give the referee the chance to make a wrong decision. And that’s what happened here. To send him off for it is wrong in my opinion. But you already have a yellow – and then you can’t give the referee the chance to send you off.”"

Deniz Aytekin also explained his decision after the game and he felt that Dahoud’s reaction after he committed the foul showed a lack of respect. The experienced referee added that he wanted to set an example after what he felt was disrespectful complaining from the midfielder after a clear foul.

"“You can certainly argue that the second yellow card individually is too harsh. But for me it was about something completely different. There was a similar scene a few minutes earlier with Guerreiro who waved his hand off. And I explained to him in no uncertain terms that I simply do not want this behavior on the pitch. We also deserve a certain amount of respect.”“All in all, the disrespectful waving off was too much for me. Why did he do it anyway? It was a clear foul. He could have just accepted it.”"

Mahmoud Dahoud will now miss Borussia Dortmund’s Bundesliga clash against FC Augsburg next weekend. His absence will certainly be a big blow to Marco Rose’s side, who are already having to make do without several key midfielders.