Bayern Munich came out 2-0 losers against Borussia Dortmund in what was, at times, quite a heated DFL Supercup encounter. Two second half goals, from Paco Alcacer and Jadon Sancho, sealed the deal for Dortmund, but there was also an incident of grave significance midway through the second half when Joshua Kimmich appeared to stomp on Sancho’s ankle on the touchline near the team’s benches. The defender seemed agitated that Sacho was reluctant to give up the ball for the Bayern throw-in, but replays showed that Kimmich deliberately stepped on Sancho’s ankle right in front of the Dortmund bench, for which he only received a yellow card.
Speaking after the match, per kicker, Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc was adamant that Kimmich should’ve been shown a straight red and given his marching orders:
That is a crystal clear red card. He steps on his foot on purpose, and the step goes towards his ankle. There can be no other decision that to give red.
Joshua Kimmich getting his Shine Box. pic.twitter.com/LEm1x8G6TC
— Maximiliano Bretos (@MaxBretosSports) August 3, 2019
With VAR readily available during the match, Zorc took a retrospective jab at the officials responsible for reviewing the video evidence at the replay center located in Cologne. Kimmich only getting a yellow card was inconceivable to him, given that the video evidence was there for all to see:
After reviewing the pictures I do not have any understanding, but really any understanding, how they, there in Cologne, can sit in the basement and say, “That is a yellow card.”
When he was asked about the incident after the match, Kimmich claimed that there was no intention to harm Sancho or deliberately use his studs to make contact the his ankle. Of course, video replay always has the luxury of being slowed down for the purpose of analysis, but the defender said that he was only trying to quickly get the ball away from Sancho with his foot to proceed with the throw-in:
Sancho put his body in the way to prohibit me from getting to the ball. In that moment, I had already stepped and struck him. It was not that is foot was already there. I wanted to take the ball with the sole. That’s why also got him with the studs. I am also a bit mad, because it definitely not on purpose from me.
Ultimately, the decision to only give Kimmich a yellow card didn’t wind up affecting the outcome of the match, but had he been sent off, it would’ve been the final nail in the coffin for Bayern on the night. It came in the 77th minute when Bayern were really chasing the game two goals down, and a red card would’ve effectively ended the contest. Still, though, that didn’t changes Zorc’s opinion on the incident, and Kimmich can consider himself lucky despite revealing that there was no intention to harm Sancho.