Borussia Dortmund players and their coach expressed their anger at the referee's decision to award a penalty kick to Bayern Munich in the 77th minute, in which they scored a 3-2 victory over the home side in the Bundesliga summit on Saturday.
Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski successfully executed the penalty, and the referee awarded it after the VAR noticed that the ball had touched the elbow of Dortmund defender Mats Hummels.
"It was a great match and fun for the fans, and we feel doubly bitter about losing in this way," Dortmund captain Marco Reus said.
"It's hard to award a penalty like that. Mats was trying to head the ball away and he needs his body to move like that," he added, after seeing the handball on Hummels.
Referee Felix Zweru ignored Dortmund's demands for two penalties.
Yes.
Very suspicious refereeing tonight in the Borussia Dortmund Vs Bayern Munich game.
Shouldn't have been a penalty for this pic.twitter.com/glTR0oZjLU
— Has the Referee or VAR made a poor decision?
(@PoorEPLreferees) December 4, 2021
The first was when Reus fell after a tackle from Luca Hernandez in the 54th minute, and the Dortmund captain indicated that Zfayer should have at least reviewed the game.
"When you watch the replay, it was a clear penalty," Royce said. "It's a shame he didn't review it."
When the Bavarian team got the penalty, Dortmund coach Marco Rose lost his nerve, and shouted at the referee to send him off for getting a second warning.
Rose was booked after Royce fell inside the penalty area.
This is Dortmund's first loss at home in the league this season, and he remained in second place with 30 points, 4 points behind Bayern after 14 rounds.
"It's a shame that the match ends with a penalty kick like this," Dortmund midfielder Emre Can said. "I'm sorry but I have to say it."
"I'm standing here to talk about the referee's decision, we put in a great performance and then this happens!"