Red card for Tah against Chelsea? Ex-referee explains | OneFootball

The scene caused quite a stir: Jonathan Tah became the center of a heated debate during Bayern’s victory over Chelsea. Now, a clear verdict comes from the experts.

During Bayern Munich’s 3-1 win over Chelsea, a duel between Jonathan Tah and João Pedro sparked excitement. After some shirt-pulling, the center-back swung his right arm and hit Pedro on the upper body. Referee José María Sánchez showed a yellow card—a decision Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca could not understand. After the match, he complained: “Hitting another player, why isn’t that a red? Do you have to see blood for a red card?”

Former FIFA referee Mark Clattenburg supports the referee’s decision. Speaking to TBR Football, he explained: “Chelsea felt Jonathan Tah should have been sent off after bringing down João Pedro near the halfway line. However, there was no malice, excessive force, or violence involved, which means only denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity could have been a possible reason for a red card.”

Clattenburg: Yellow card was correct

He added: “Given the distance from goal and the possibility of a covering defender, it is unlikely that the incident met that criterion. Therefore, the referee’s decision to show a yellow card was correct.”

He also clarified: “It’s worth noting that intent has long been removed from the rules. Referees are instead supposed to judge factors such as force, malice, speed, or the denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.”

Tah himself expressed understanding for the caution but dismissed the idea of a red card: “If I had hit him in the face, I’d agree. But like this: I could understand the yellow card, that was right.” Support also came from sporting director Christoph Freund: “It looked worse because it happened so quickly… but it wasn’t violent conduct.” Coach Vincent Kompany said: “I thought his shirt was being pulled and he tried to free himself… but I might be biased.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.