Koeman slams Camavinga for poor judgement in Bayern red card incident

Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman has weighed in on the controversial sending-off of Eduardo Camavinga during Real Madrid’s Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich, insisting he would have reacted more strongly than the player’s own coach over the incident.

Camavinga was shown a second yellow card in the 86th minute of Wednesday’s quarter-final second leg after delaying the restart by holding onto the ball following a foul against him.

The Angola-born midfielder had been booked earlier in the 78th minute, leaving referee Slavko Vinčić with no option but to dismiss him.

At the time of the sending-off, Real Madrid were leading 3-2 and on course to progress. However, the dismissal proved pivotal as Bayern Munich capitalised on their numerical advantage, scoring twice in quick succession to complete a dramatic 4-3 victory on the night.

The Bundesliga side had already taken control of the tie with a 2-1 win in the first leg, sealing a 6-4 aggregate triumph to reach the semi-finals.

The red card quickly became the central talking point of the match, with several analysts arguing that the decision was harsh and that the game had been significantly altered by the incident.

Real Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa and several players reportedly pointed to the dismissal as the turning point, expressing frustration with the officiating.

Koeman, however, placed the emphasis on Camavinga’s own decision-making under pressure rather than the referee’s judgement.

Speaking to reporters, he said he would have taken a far stricter stance if he were in charge of the player.

“I would have been much more angry with the player, who has to understand the flow of the game,” Koeman said. “He should accept the foul decision and leave the ball. By holding onto it, you leave the decision in the referee’s hands. You cannot do that.”