The Villa defender mistakenly assumed Martinez had not restarted play and so scooped the ball up with his left hand, placed it on the edge of the six-yard box and proceeded to sidefoot the ball back to his goalkeeper.
Only the officials, Brugge's players and most of the stadium were convinced the ball was in play. The German referee, Tobias Stieler, after a brief VAR review, penalised Mings, who had been booked in the first half, by awarding a penalty, but stopped short of reaching for a second yellow.
Even Ezri Konsa wondered how his teammate escaped a red card. Hans Vanaken, the Brugge captain, sent the subsequent spot-kick down the middle and the 19-time Belgian champions seized a deserved lead, albeit in peculiar circumstances.
The obvious precedent occurred in this competition's quarter-finals in April, when Thomas Tuchel, then in charge of Bayern Munich, said the referee Glenn Nyberg told him he would not punish Gabriel for a "kid's mistake" after he picked the ball up from an Arsenal goal-kick. Unai Emery had no complaints. "It is a very, very strange mistake, but it's football," he said. "We have to forget it quickly. It's the biggest mistake I have witnessed in my career. This mistake is not going to happen again for a long time - I don't think in my lifetime."
Denne historien er fra November 07, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian.
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Denne historien er fra November 07, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian.
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