Bayern Munich‘s coach, José Barcala, emphasized the need for a conversation around hair pulling in women’s football after expressing his disagreement with Franziska Kett‘s red card during the team’s 1-1 Champions League semifinal first-leg match against Barcelona at Allianz Arena.
Kett received her red card in the 79th minute for pulling the hair of Salma Paralluelo, but Barcala argued that Kett was merely attempting to grasp the Barça forward’s shirt and should have only received a yellow card.
“Regarding the dismissal, I genuinely believe this is a topic that needs discussion in women’s football,” Barcala stated to Disney+ after the match. “Salma has such long hair. There was no intent to pull it; she might have been trying to grab the shirt, but the hair was in the way. I can see a yellow card in this situation, but a red card? No, I disagree.”
Following Kett’s red card, Barcala himself received a dismissal for challenging the referee’s decision. “As a coach, I never pressure referees, and I feel the red card was completely unjust,” he added. “A yellow card would have made sense, but not a red.”
Before her dismissal, Kett had been a standout as Bayern responded to an early goal from Ewa Pajor, which was scored in front of a record crowd of 31,000 for Bayern’s women’s team. Kett effectively defended against Caroline Graham Hansen and Ona Batlle, made a critical save from Cata Coll just before halftime, and scored the equalizer in the 69th minute, marking her first goal ever in the competition.
“Losing her for the second leg is going to be a significant blow for us,” Barcala remarked about Kett, who will be suspended for the return fixture at Spotify Camp Nou next week. “She is a vital player for us, excelling in individual duels and defending spaces, in addition to her attacking contributions.”
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Pajor scored the game’s opening goal in the eighth minute from a cross by Esmee Brugts, but Bayern outperformed in the first half.
Barcelona stepped up their performance in the second half, conceding the equalizer shortly after Brugts hit the post and Patri Guijarro had a header cleared off the line, but they failed to capitalize on their chances.
The best opportunity might have fallen to Paralluelo late in stoppage time, but she shot over the bar, thus missing the chance to exploit Bayern’s one-player advantage in the final 15 minutes.
“We progressed as the game continued,” Barça coach Pere Romeu remarked to Disney+. “Despite having the lead, our first half performance was not strong. We made adjustments in the second half, improved our play, but even after the equalizer, we were perhaps more driven by emotion than strategy in the closing moments.”
Barça will host Bayern in the second leg next Sunday with a spot in the final at stake against either OL Lyonnes or Arsenal.
The last meeting between the teams earlier this season ended in a resounding 7-1 victory for Barça, but much has changed since, with Bayern remaining unbeaten since that heavy defeat.
“I’ve previously mentioned that result was misleading,” noted Barça midfielder Alexia Putellas in an interview with TV3. “Our locker room is aware of that. We anticipated a completely different game today, playing at their ground and in front of their fans. This is a two-legged tie, and we still have another 90 minutes at Spotify Camp Nou to determine the outcome.”