Bayern Munich's women fight back to draw 1-1 with Barcelona in Champions League thriller
Controversial Red Cards Overshadow Bayern's Strong Display Against Barcelona
It was the 79th minute on Saturday at Munich's Football Arena when Franziska Kett committed a costly blunder. The FC Bayern left-back, in an otherwise harmless duel near the touchline, briefly grabbed the braid of her opponent, Barcelona's Salma Paralluelo.
Since pulling hair is classified as violent conduct in football, Croatian referee Ivana Martincic showed the Germany international a red card. The decision stood even after a VAR review. Bayern coach José Barcala protested, gesturing angrily toward the officials—and was also sent off with a second red of the evening.
The incident echoed Kathrin Hendrich's dismissal at the 2025 European Championship. Playing for Germany in the quarterfinal against France, Hendrich had held opponent Griedge Mbock by the braid and was ejected. The ruling had already sparked debate last summer over whether the interpretation of the rule was justified.
Now, Bianca Rech, director of Bayern's women's team, has reignited the discussion. "In my view, Franziska Kett's red card is something we need to fundamentally debate," she said, frustrated. "If a player has hair down to her backside, and Franzi naturally reaches for the jersey but ends up grabbing the hair instead, we have to ask whether that really warrants a red card." Rech herself had been booked earlier for dissent.
Record Crowd in Munich
Barcala echoed her sentiments. "Maybe Franzi intended to pull the jersey—not the hair. It's so easy to accidentally grab the hair; that shouldn't be a red card," the Spaniard argued. He also considered his own dismissal excessive. But the protests are unlikely to change anything: Bayern's women will have to face Barcelona in Sunday's return leg (4:30 PM local time) without their defender or their coach.
The two red cards marred what was otherwise a highly successful evening in Munich. A crowd of 31,000—an all-time record for Bayern's women in a Champions League match—turned out to see whether the team could hold their own against the world's best. After their humiliating 1-7 defeat in Barcelona on the opening matchday, they were determined to prove that was just a slip-up.
And they did, thanks to a far more defensive approach. Barça struggled in the first half to break down Bayern's deep block, unable to generate their usual offensive flurry—with one exception. After Giulia Gwinn's positional error, Esmee Brugts delivered a cross into the box, and Ewa Pajor (8') opened the scoring. Unlike in October's rout in Barcelona, however, the hosts kept their composure and continued to defend resolutely.
Whenever they won possession, Bayern launched dangerous counterattacks. One such move paid off when Kett (69') equalized after a strong buildup by Pernille Harder. "Against Barcelona, you have to accept that you won't have much of the ball," Gwinn said. "But when we did, we used it really well. We defended like lions, scored the equalizer, and had the momentum on our side. It's a shame about the two red cards—after that, it was just about holding on with ten players."
The dream of reaching the Champions League final for the first time remains alive. Gwinn struck an optimistic note: "They're not invincible. Anything is possible."
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