Terzic and Can contest penalty decision, Reus more stolid after loss
Predictably enough, Dortmund midfielder Emré Can and head-coach Edin Terzic made their grievances known after the 1-2 loss that saw them eliminated from the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League.
Marco Reus took a more stoic stance on the 52nd-minute penalty call.
Another Game. Another piece of controversial refereeing. Eight days after Jude Bellingham's goal was disallowed because of a highly subjective foul, the BVB footballers were gifted another topic to stew over. Just like last week, there were post-match complaints.
Marco Reus took a more stoic stance on the 52nd-minute penalty call.
"What I just don't understand is that we have refereeing training every year," trainer Edin Terzic groused after the full-time whistle, "Then we were told that if you head the ball onto your own hand, it's not considered against the rules. We haven't been lucky with refereeing decisions in the past seven days."
Emré Can once again found himself at the center of it all. Instead of being booked for dissent this time, he had to grapple with being the player who conceded the handball penalty that completely altered the complexion of the match. The BVB went from heading through to the semis to at best facing extra time after Riyad Mahrez converted from the spot in the 55th.
"I think in the rules it says that it's not a penalty," Can mused into the Sky microphone afterwards, "It's bitter. It hurts."
What both coach player conveniently neglected to mention was that, subjectively speaking, Can's hand could have been deemed to be in an unnaturally splayed position when he headed the ball onto it.
Reporters questioning Marco Reus asked if he took umbrage at the wild gesticulating protests from the City bench that may have had some influence on match official Carlos del Cerro Grande pointing to the spot.
"If one is honest, if it had happened like that on the other side, we would have protested loudly too," the veteran remarked stoically.
Social media posts after the match were mostly cordial. German international Ilkay Gündogan spoke of his pleasure at playing at Signal Iduna Park again and added his best wishes for the favored BVB to triumph in this year's domestic cup.
Es war schön, mal wieder im Westfalenstadion gespielt zu haben, wenn auch leider ohne Zuschauer. Ich wünsche dem @BVB nach zwei sehr starken Leistungen gegen uns alles Gute für die restliche Saison ... + natürlich den Pokalsieg in Berlin 👍🏼😉🏆🇩🇪 Wir sehen uns!
— Ilkay Gündogan (@IlkayGuendogan) April 14, 2021