Fans have praised referee Daniele Orsato for a “brilliant decision” during Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League semi-final victory against PSG, but Rio Ferdinand disagrees.
Orsato initially awarded a penalty to PSG after a challenge by Mats Hummels on Ousmane Dembélé on the edge of the area in the 65th minute of the match.
The initial contact with Dembélé’s left foot seemed outside the area, but it fell inside and Ferdinand felt it was a penalty.
However, the Italian changed his mind within a couple of seconds and instead conceded a free kick, with fans praising his hawk eye and quick decision-making.
A crowd of PSG players immediately surrounded him to protest the change, but Orsato fulfilled his call.
Fans praised Daniele Orsato after taking a free kick following a challenge by Mats Hummels on Ousmane Dembélé.
Orsato initially pointed to the penalty spot before changing his mind and taking a free kick.
The challenge was on the line and the VAR confirmed that Orsato’s decision was correct
Dortmund were leading 1-0 in the match after a header from Mats Hummels and were leading 2-0 on aggregate, a score that finally allowed them to win. The VAR confirmed that Orsato’s decision was correct.
Ferdinand led the criticism on TNT Sports, saying: “This is a penalty.” His left toe is at stake. That’s a pen. The left foot is on the line where contact is made, come on man. “That’s why they have VAR.”
However, he did not find such good support in the social media town hall.
“Brilliant decision by the referee,” wrote a fan on X, formerly Twitter.
‘That is a SUPERIOR decision by the referee. Let’s be real here. “Now that’s class,” said another.
‘What a decision by the referee. Wow,” commented another.
“Wow, that was a quick change of heart by the referee in the CL semi-final, but at least he made the right decision,” said one.
Another took the opportunity to criticize English officials, writing: ‘What? A decision. It’s a shame that the English referees now spend 5 minutes reviewing the VAR to make that decision. Fix it @FA_PGMOL.’
Rio Ferdinand did not like the decision and considered that Dembélé’s left toe was at stake.
Dortmund reached their first Champions League final since 2013 with two 1-0 wins over PSG.
Hummels headed in Dortmund’s only goal of the night in the second half as Edin Terzic’s men continued a historic run.
Club legend Marco Reus celebrated with fans just four days after telling the club he was leaving.
‘Why can’t all referees be like that? Every time I see this man referee a match, he gets almost every decision right,” said one.
Dortmund entered the tie in Paris with a 1-0 lead thanks to Niclas Fullkrug’s goal in the first leg.
PSG had plenty of scoring opportunities on both legs, hitting the post and crossbar several times, and wunderkind Warren Zaire-Emery will regret missing an open goal just three minutes before Hummels’ goal.
The French champions took 30 shots and 70 percent of the ball on Thursday night, but couldn’t find the back of the net.
Kylian Mbappe looked exasperated at full-time after falling short once again ahead of his move to Real Madrid in the summer.
For Dortmund, it is their first Champions League final since 2013, when they lost 2-1 to Bayern Munich, and this year it could well be repeated depending on how their rivals fare in Madrid on Wednesday night.
This is even more notable when we take into account that they occupy fifth place in the Bundesliga, 24 points behind Bayer Leverkusen.