Deniz Aytekin slammed by Hamburg fans as he causes more controversy in first Bundesliga game since dodgy Barcelona vs PSG performance
German ref could could be demoted for his display in Champions League clash last week and was at it again... but this time, he got it right
REFEREE Deniz Aytekin has been slammed by Hamburg fans amid more controversy in his first Bundesliga game since his dodgy Barcelona vs PSG performance.
The German official who took charge of Barcelona’s historic Champions League triumph came under intense scrutiny for a number of blunders in the match.
Keep up to date with ALL the Barcelona news, gossip, transfers and goals on our club page plus fixtures, results and live match commentary
And Italian legend and Uefa’s head of refereeing, Pierluigi Collina, is to decide whether Aytekin will take charge of another European fixture this season, or be demoted.
But he had to put that looming decision behind him and return to his Bundesliga duties for Borussia Monchengladbach's visit to Hamburg this weekend.
And almost instantly, he was the centre of controversy as with Gladbach 1-0 up, Hamburg equalised through Aaron Hunt despite Gladbach's protests that Albin Ekdal was offside.
The assistant did not raise his flag, but Aytekin ran over, had a chat and eventually disallowed the goal, much to the ire of the home players and home fans.
most read in sport
However, replays did eventually show Aytekin to have been spot on in his reversal of the decision as Hamburg eventually won the game 2-1 thanks to a Bobby Wood winner.
It may not make a lot of difference to his European competition hopes though after the 38-year-old came under fire for his decision not to award Angel Di Maria a penalty after being taken out by Javier Mascherano during Barca's 6-1 fightback.
The Barcelona defender later owned up, admitting: "It’s clear that I did foul Di Maria but I think that’s not the reason why we eliminated PSG.”
Aytekin also controversially awarded Barca a spot-kick after Luis Suarez appeared to dive following minimal contact from Marquinhos.
Collina has a no-nonsense approach when it comes to cutting out refereeing mistakes and is likely to punish Aytekin, according to Uefa sources.
And to add to Aytekin's woes, he has also been sensationally accused by French newspaper Le Parisien of shouting “f*** you” to PSG’s players after they protested his decisions during the match against Barcelona.
But it is worth noting that none of the PSG players have claimed that Aytekin swore at them.