FC Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany and his players strongly criticised the decision to send off Luis Díaz during Saturday’s 1–1 draw with Bayer 04 Leverkusen, after the referee later admitted the call was a mistake.
Bayern managed to secure the draw despite finishing the match with just nine players, while Harry Kane made his return from injury.
Díaz, who scored Bayern’s equaliser after Aleix García had given Leverkusen the lead, was sent off in the 84th minute for a second yellow card after the referee ruled that he had dived. Earlier in the game, Nicolas Jackson was shown a straight red card in the 42nd minute for a reckless challenge while Kane started on the bench.
After the match, referee Christian Dingert acknowledged that the decision to send off Díaz was incorrect after reviewing the replay.
Kompany was visibly frustrated with the call.
“The Luis Díaz decision is never a second yellow card — it’s not even a yellow,” Kompany said. “You can debate whether it’s a penalty or not, but there was clearly contact.
“If you look at his reaction afterwards, he stands up immediately. You can see he’s being honest. He fell because of the contact, got back up straight away, and still received a second yellow. Now he’s suspended for the next match.”
Leverkusen had taken the lead early in the sixth minute when 18-year-old German-American winger Montrell Culbreath won the ball from Díaz and passed to Patrik Schick, who set up García to score with a deflected shot from the edge of the box.
The home side continued to defend well and frustrated Bayern for much of the match. Tensions rose before halftime when Jackson was sent off for a late tackle on Martin Terrier.
Bayern were also dealing with goalkeeper issues, with third-choice keeper Sven Ulreich starting in goal. Regular goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was out with a calf injury, while backup Jonas Urbig suffered a concussion in Bayern’s 6–1 win over Atalanta B.C. in the UEFA Champions League earlier in the week.
Ulreich produced a key save in a one-on-one situation against Schick around the hour mark, shortly before Kane came on.
“The guys have known me for a long time and know I’ll step up when needed,” Ulreich said. “You could feel that support during training this week. They trust me, and we have a great group of goalkeepers. Both of them messaged me before the game to wish me luck.”
Kane, returning from a calf injury, was playing his first match since February 28. He thought he had scored in the 62nd minute after firing into an empty net, but the goal was ruled out for handling the ball while blocking the goalkeeper’s clearance during the buildup.
Díaz eventually equalised in the 69th minute with a low strike after a precise assist from Michael Olise. However, his late red card left Bayern with nine players for the final minutes.
Leverkusen pushed hard for a winner but were unable to break through, with Jonas Hofmann seeing a goal ruled out deep into stoppage time.
Kompany praised his team’s resilience after the chaotic match.
“I’m incredibly proud of the mentality the players showed,” he said. “There was a lot happening in this game.”
Bayern have now gone without a league win at Leverkusen since October 2021, though they will return to the same venue next month for a semifinal clash in the DFB-Pokal
