Bayern scene causes anger: Tah: "If I hit him in the face, it's red"

A slashing motion by national team player Jonathan Tah caused a stir in Bayern Munich's Champions League match against Chelsea. Was it a normal foul or perhaps a violent act? Opinions differ on the scene leading up to the Munich goal.

Michael Olise is unstoppable and Harry Kane scores twice again: FC Bayern kicks off the new Champions League season with a big win against Chelsea. But after the at least partially impressive 3-1 victory, there will still be talk about a scene involving defender Jonathan Tah.

Just before the Londoners had temporarily restored the tension after trailing 2-0 with Cole Palmer's goal, Tah had a tough challenge on Joao Pedro in midfield. The Brazilian vehemently pulled on the Munich player's shirt, who tried to break free. The collision resulted in a blow.

After the Londoners' goal, Tah received a yellow card. A heated discussion erupted on the touchline. Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca found referee José María Sánchez Martínez's decision completely incomprehensible; he wished the Munich center-back had been shown a red card, as he hadn't always performed confidently in front of national coach Julian Nagelsmann. "Why isn't that a red card? The referee said it wasn't harsh enough. Do they have to see blood to give a red card?" he complained after the match. But the decision stood. Maresca also received a yellow card.

"It happened, but it wasn't an assault"

Tah was substituted at halftime. Minjae-Kim came on for him. Coach Vincent Kompany justified his decision by saying he wanted to protect the player and the team. He didn't see the action near the center circle as a big deal anyway, perhaps even a foul on Tah. But he added with a laugh that he was "biased." In his opinion, Tah was simply trying to break free. "As a defender, you just want to shake off your opponent in situations like that."

Tah later dodged the question in the mixed zone as to whether the penalty was appropriate or whether it should have been harsher. "If I hit him in the face, then yes (Editor's note: then it would have been considered violent conduct and therefore a red card). " He said the yellow card, "I could understand," as well as the substitution at halftime.

Jan-Christian Dreesen, CEO of FC Bayern Munich, shared this view. He didn't want to get drawn into a long discussion about it in the mixed zone, so he played it down and said: "I think the coach, the trainer, made the appropriate substitutions based on this alone."

In any case, Bayern weren't particularly willing to get involved in such a discussion. "In a running duel, he turned around and hit him," said sporting director Christoph Freund. "I don't think there was any intention behind it." Tah "checked his opponents' chests," and that "looked worse because the movement was so fast and both were sprinting." His conclusion: "It happened, but it wasn't an assault."