Borussia Dortmund still does not have a good word for the decision of referee Michael Oliver to send Mats Hummels off the field against Ajax because of a foul on Antony. The German top club is consulting with its legal advisor to consider possible steps, reports kicker. Should Hummels be suspended by UEFA, it is expected that Dortmund will appeal.
The race had been underway for half an hour when Hummels slid in hard towards Antony. The Brazilian winger of the team from Amsterdam dodged the tackle of the German defender, landed on Hummels’ leg and then cried out. Oliver drew red and sent Hummels off the field despite protests. “It was a more than obvious wrong decision,” director Michael Zorc told the German news agency SID. “It destroyed our game. It decided the match. We will contact UEFA.”
RED BUMBLE! Borussia Dortmund must continue with ten players. Mats Hummels comes in hard and Michael Oliver (+ VAR) think yellow is not enough. #UCL #BVBAJA pic.twitter.com/XBGIAEYQSh
— VTBL ? (@vtbl) Nov 3, 2021
According to Zorc, a possible suspension of Hummels would also not fit with the standards and values of the European Football Association. “UEFA promotes respect, but this has nothing to do with respect. Michael Oliver must see it. Hummels passes Antony forty centimeters, who then stands on Hummels’ foot,” says Zorc. With one man less Dortmund took the lead from a penalty kick, but it eventually went down 1-3 by goals from Dusan Tadic, Sébastien Haller and Davy Klaassen.
Hummels walked off the field indignantly after his red card and had a short conversation with Oliver after the final whistle. In the German media he spoke disgrace of the decision and the role Antony played in it. “The performance of my opponent Antony should not be ignored, it is downright unsportsmanlike. It is a farce. Antony even told me it was not a red! The VAR must reverse this, especially if he is a professional, and I think that he that is.”