Sebastian Kehl hits back after Bayern Munich claim Jude Bellingham should have been sent off
By Tushar Bahl
Sebastian Kehl has implied that Bayern Munich were lucky that they did not have more players sent off against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday after Julian Nagelsmann criticised referee Deniz Aytekin for not sending off Jude Bellingham.
Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich played out a thrilling 2-2 draw on Saturday evening, with Edin Terzic’s side coming from two goals behind and scoring in the 95th minute to claim a point at the Signal Iduna Park. There were plenty of talking points from what was a thrilling Der Klassiker between the two title rivals.
Bayern Munich were left aggrieved after referee Deniz Aytekin did not show Jude Bellingham a second yellow card for his high boot on Alphonso Davies. The left-back was taken to a hospital straight away, and the Bavarians announced on Sunday that he has sustained a bruised skull.
Bayern Munich head coach Julian Nagelsmann and CEO Oliver Kahn both criticised the referee for not sending off Bellingham. But Borussia Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl has now responded by implying that Bayern were lucky to end the game with ten men.
"“Jude didn’t see him at all, he was trying to get the ball,” Kehl said. “Of course, it looked blatant in the end and it was unfortunate that Davies had to leave the pitch. But if we start talking about this now, I don’t know how we assess the situations with Sané, Goretzka or de Ligt.”"
Leon Goretzka, Matthijs de Ligt and Leroy Sané all committed fouls that could have been deemed as red card worthy. But Aytekin decided not to send them off. The referee did show Kingsley Coman a red card in the 90th minute after the winger picked up two yellow cards.
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Deniz Aytekin admitted on Sunday that the incident involving Davies and Bellingham should have seen the England international get a yellow card when looked at in isolation. But he added that Bellingham did not make the challenge on purpose, and he decided to show some empathy and take a lenient approach.