Bayern Munich’s effort to have Luis Diaz’s red card overturned has fallen short, even after the referee admitted his decision was mistaken. Diaz was sent off for what was initially called a dive during the 1-1 draw against Bayer Leverkusen. Replays, however, showed there was definite contact between Diaz and the goalkeeper. Despite this, the DFB sports court ruled that the one-match suspension must be upheld, adding to Bayern’s growing squad problems.

The referee himself acknowledged the punishment was harsh. Diaz had scored Bayern’s only goal before being shown a second yellow, which led to his dismissal. The second booking was given for an alleged dive in the box. But post-match footage clearly showed some contact with Leverkusen goalkeeper Janis Blaswich. Christian Dingert, the referee, later admitted in an interview that the second yellow was too harsh and that, seeing the replays, he wouldn’t have made that call again.

Bayern acted quickly to appeal the ban, banking on Dingert’s admission to get it rescinded. That didn’t happen. The DFB’s sports court decided the referee’s comments after the match weren’t enough to overturn the original decision made on the field. Court chairman Stephan Oberholz explained that the incident didn’t meet the strict standard needed for a retroactive change. He also pointed out that Diaz had actively sought contact with the goalkeeper, so the card wasn’t entirely unjustified.

The DFB clarified their position in detail, stressing that referees’ decisions hold unless they are clearly and obviously wrong. Oberholz made it clear that for an appeal to succeed, the original decision has to be seriously flawed, which this was not. In his ruling, he said that since the incident was classified as a factual decision, it could only be overturned if it was indisputably incorrect, and they did not find that to be the case. As a result, Diaz will have to sit out Bayern’s next match against Union Berlin.

This absence worsens an already tricky situation for Bayern manager Vincent Kompany. Diaz’s suspension comes amid injury concerns for other key players. After a demanding Champions League win over Atalanta last week, Alphonso Davies and Jamal Musiala were already sidelined for the Leverkusen game due to injuries picked up in Europe. Bayern’s squad depth will be tested even further as they navigate a packed fixture list.

Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany didn’t bother hiding his anger after Luis Diaz was sent off late in a frantic game against Bayer Leverkusen. Diaz, who’d just come off the bench and scored the equaliser, picked up his second yellow card for what the referee ruled was a dive after the Leverkusen keeper, Janis Blaswich, clipped him as Diaz tried to skip past.

It was pure chaos at the BayArena. Diaz turned the match around for Bayern in the 69th minute with his goal, after they’d been under pressure ever since Jackson’s straight red card in the first half. But things fell apart when, with just six minutes to go, the ref pulled out a second yellow for Diaz. The contact looked slight, but Diaz tumbled and got up fast still, no room for debate. Off he went.

A draw keeps Bayern close to the top, but the fallout was instant. With both Jackson and Diaz now suspended, Kompany has no choice but to shake up the starting eleven for the next game, all while the club chews over how the afternoon unravelled.

Kompany didn’t hold back after the match. “The worst thing is Lucho Diaz! Why does he get the yellow-red card? No one in the stadium knows. It’s madness,” he told DAZN. He was baffled, especially since Diaz didn’t even appeal for a penalty; he just got up and carried on. Diaz had already been booked earlier for a high boot and now will miss the next game.

Frustration spread through the squad. Kompany wanted an explanation for that second yellow: “That hurts, of course. He’s suspended now. Someone needs to explain why that’s a yellow in this situation.” His players felt the same way. They thought the ref just misread Diaz’s intent.

After the match, Bayern sporting director Max Eberl added a twist: referee Christian Dingert admitted his mistake after seeing the replay. “I just spoke to Mr Dingert. He said it wasn’t a yellow-red card,” Eberl told reporters. The honesty was respectable, but the damage was already done. “For him, it looked like a clear dive in the game, but after seeing the images, he knows it wasn’t. That’s honourable, but it doesn’t help us,” Eberl said. And because it was a second yellow, not a straight red, VAR couldn’t step in.

Inside the Bayern dressing room, everyone sided with Diaz. Jonathan Tah pointed out that Diaz never tried to milk the situation. “He gets straight back up. Yes, he falls, and he’s touched a bit. But he gets up, no drama, nothing. That’s why it’s crazy to call that a dive.” Josip Stanisic agreed, saying, “He already has a yellow; to go straight for another feels harsh, especially because there’s contact. If it’s a blatant dive, fine, but Blaswich clearly clips him.” Joshua Kimmich didn’t mince words. For him, it wasn’t a dive, “not in a lifetime".