The Sergio Ramos case is looming large over Bayern Munich’s tactics against Atalanta.
Vincent Kompany’s side obliterated their Italian rivals in the Champions League last 16, beating them 6-1 away from home, almost rendering the return leg pointless.
As such, there were controversial scenes when Joshua Kimmich and Michael Olise took too long to take set pieces.
Both already on yellow cards from previous matches, the pair repeatedly hesitated before the referee cautioned them for time wasting.
The Bayern duo will now miss the return leg in Germany, but have a clean slate for the quarter-finals.
Could Olise and Kimmich get banned?
With every onlooker deeming the yellow cards intentional, questions have been asked over whether the pair should be punished.
In 2019, Sergio Ramos admitted to deliberately getting a yellow card for the same reason against Ajax.
Rather hilariously, Ajax came back against Madrid, knocking them out in the last 16 to completely humiliate Ramos.
Yet had his trick worked anyway, he would have been suspended for the first game of the quarter-finals for the deliberate second yellow.
UEFA decided to upgrade Ramos’ suspension from one game to two, but there’s a crucial difference between himself and the Bayern pair.
In 2019 Ramos admitted to the act, making UEFA’s investigation far more easy to conclude.
“I would be lying if I said I didn’t force [the booking],” he told reporters post-match.
There were obviously no such admissions from Olise and Kimmich, so UEFA have far less to go on, and may have to rethink their rules.
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