PSG clinches second straight Champions League final berth in a tale of two handballs

The referee perspective. From Pinheiro's perspective, Laimer had actually committed a handball offense of his own right before Mendes committed his, and because it happened earlier, Laimer's handball took precedence.

The fan perspective. Sure, but...Laimer's handball offense was debatable at best, while Mendes's was as obvious as handball offenses come. There is nothing in the official FIFA law book that absolves Mendes here: the only thing that saved him from getting sent off was Pinheiro making a harsh decision on his opponent instead.

The verdict. This one's hard to justify: on the balance of play, this should've been called and Mendes should've been sent off. The only argument Pinheiro has against it is that Laimer's handball happened first...but Laimer's handball, if one could call it that, was so soft it wasn't even visible on the game's television cameras. Mendes's was egregious.

Handball 2: Joao Neves, 31st minute

The incident. While the stadium was still reeling from Mendes's non-call, Bayern launched a gorgeous attacking sequence into PSG's penalty box and forced midfielder Vitinha to make a desperate clearance. Vitinha's ball flew at his teammate Joao Neves and clearly struck him in the arm inside the penalty box—an offense that generally results in a yellow card and a penalty kick to the opposition team.

The referee perspective. Yes, Neves clearly committed a handball offense in the penalty box...but because the ball was struck by his teammate, the handball was officially a non-issue. The FIFA laws allow for penalty box handballs to be null and void in that case, provided that the offending player's arm isn't in an unnatural position.

The fan perspective. Sure...but Neves's was. He was spinning around in the penalty box when Vitinha's ball hit him and his arm was extended well outside a "natural" range.

The verdict. This one's tough, but the law is in the referee's favor on this call, and giving a penalty here would've been incredibly harsh.

However—and it is a big "however"—Bayern defender Alphonso Davies conceded a very soft penalty in the opening leg by committing a very similar offense. Bayern fans have every right to feel aggrieved by the lack of consistency.

PSG will return to Champions League action in the tournament final on Saturday, May 30. They'll defend their Champions League title against Arsenal.