Bayern Munich star Josip Stanisic pushed a ballboy to the floor as his side were dumped out of the Champions League. His shove in stoppage time came as he tried to retrieve the ball, but as tempers flared it was a member of the Inter Milan staff who got booked – with Stanisic dodging the referee’s fury.
Stanisic went racing after the ball as the German side looked for the goal that would force extra-time. They ultimately failed, but the Croatian could’ve found himself in hot water after his moment of madness.
The ball boy, who was sitting down on a stool, was not overly attentive in returning the ball at the San Siro – in fact he threw the ball in the opposite direction – and the shove that followed saw the Inter bench quickly jump up. That resulted in one member of the Nerazzurri’s backroom staff getting shown a yellow card for his reaction.
For Bayern, it was a disappointing night, as Vincent Kompany’s men were dumped out and the Serie A side advanced into the semi-finals. They won the first-leg at the Allianz Arena and that proved crucial with the game in Milan finishing 2-2, resulting in a 4-3 win across the two-legs.
Harry Kane had put Bayern ahead in Italy with a fine finish early in the second period. But Inter came roaring back as Lautaro Martinez and then Benjamin Pavard scored in quick succession. Eric Dier, a former Tottenham player like Kane, headed home the equaliser on the night for the German giants. And while they pushed looking for a goal to take things to extra-time, it wasn’t to be.
The result at the San Siro means Bayern will not contest the final, which will be played at their own stadium. The last time the Champions League final was held at the Allianz Arena was back in 2012, when the Bavarians played on their own patch, but were beaten by Chelsea.
Martinez, the Inter skipper, told Amazon Prime: “We will remember this game for a long time, Inter never give up: we have personality, heart and head.
“We suffered, but we showed once again that we can do great things.”
Inter are aiming to reach a second Champions League final in three seasons. They were beaten in 2023 as Manchester City completed the treble with victory over the Italians in Istanbul, but Simone Inzaghi’s side are two games away from another attempt at lifting the trophy.
They will face Barcelona, who are fancied by many, in the semi-finals and the Inter skipper said: “It will be an important tie against a great opponent, in the Champions League they have a lot of history.
“But now we focus on the championship, we have time before starting to think about them.”
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