France said on Monday (June 1, 2026) that nearly 900 people had been arrested in riots that broke out after Paris Saint-Germain club won the coveted Champions League for a second consecutive year over the weekend.

“We’ve had more than 890 arrests. In total, that’s 45% more than last year,” Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told broadcaster France Inter, adding that nearly 180 law enforcement officers had been injured.

Celebrations were blighted by clashes between youths and police in Paris and other cities, cars set on fire and shops looted.

On Sunday (May 31) evening, President Emmanuel Macron received the team at the Elysee Palace. While he said PSG were an “immense pride” for France, he denounced the “unspeakable” violence.

“Enough. We are fed up,” he said.

“This is not football, this is not sport, this is not what we love,” he added.

One man died riding his motorbike around the Paris ring road in celebration while authorities reported stabbings and other attacks.

For the second time in three seasons, Bayern Munich fell short in the Champions League semifinals with regrets about a referee’s decision in the second leg.

A free kick that should have led to a second yellow card for handball by Paris Saint-Germain defender Nuno Mendes was overturned after just 29 minutes when Bayern badly needed a way back into Wednesday’s (May ^) game.

“That would have been a decisive moment if PSG had lost a player so early,” said Bayern’s Konrad Laimer, who instead was eventually judged — on the fourth official’s advice — to have handled the ball seconds earlier.

Two years ago, a potential goal in stoppage time by Bayern’s Matthijs de Ligt to force extra time at Real Madrid was ruled out by a quickly raised flag for a possible offside that was marginal at best.

In 2024, Bayern’s then-coach Thomas Tuchel called the on-field ruling a “disastrous decision” that “feels almost like a betrayal.”

It is now six years and counting — and two semifinals exits — since six-time European champion Bayern last played in the final.

An added frustration is the passage of play around the Nuno Mendes handball could not be reviewed by the VAR system — though a similar incident could be next season when the rules are updated.

Key moment

PSG took a deserved third-minute lead in Munich on Wednesday when Ousmane Dembélé finished a fast break driven by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s skills and speed.

That made it 6-4 on aggregate to PSG, and Bayern seeking a big change in momentum.

It seemed to come when Laimer surged forward and flicked the ball up to the side of Nuno Mendes, whose outstretched right arm made his body bigger and blocked the ball.

Referee João Pinheiro blew his whistle and signaled with his left arm a free kick to Bayern. Another yellow card for Nuno Mendes, already booked for tripping Michael Olise, seemed inevitable.

Before Pinheiro reached the spot to take the free kick, his right arm was out in the PSG direction of play. The Portuguese referee gave a thumbs up signal to his fourth official on the touchline, Espen Eskas from Norway.

Laimer was judged to have handled the ball several meters (yards) further back when he first controlled the bouncing ball. Television replays were inconclusive.

“You don’t feel it during the game itself. I thought I had played the ball with my stomach, and then Mendes with his hand,” Laimer said. “The referee whistled for handball against me five seconds later. That’s really strange.”

No VAR review

The VAR protocol today allows video review of “clear and obvious errors” in four game-changing situations: A goal, a penalty, direct red cards, mistaken identity when the wrong player is shown a red or yellow card.

Starting at the World Cup next month, VAR can intervene to overturn a red card if a second yellow was shown in error.

Nuno Mendes never was shown a second yellow on Wednesday. However, a similar situation next season will let the referee follow their first instinct and review the whole passage of play at a pitchside monitor.

“I though he was giving it,” Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said of Pinheiro moving toward a second yellow for Nuno Mendes. “I felt he pulled out because he realized he had already given him a yellow and he didn’t want to send him off for that, and he’s turned it around to the other side.

“I’ve seen it from a few angles. I don’t see Konrad Laimer touch the ball with his hand.”

Instead of playing one hour against PSG down one man, Bayern faced a full-strength opponent and did not score until Harry Kane’s goal at the very end of a 1-1 game that cut the overall score to 6-5.

Minutes after the Laimer decision, Bayern was correctly denied a penalty for handball by PSG’s João Neves because the ball was played to his arm by a teammate. That nuance is not specified in The Laws of the Game but it is in a supplementary document called Football Rules.

PSG will defend its Champions League title against Arsenal on May 30. Bayern’s wait goes on.

Bayern Munich have worked their ​way to within a game of the Champions ⁠League final, and players and fans are preparing for an unforgettable moment in Wednesday’s semi-final second leg against Paris St Germain, Bayern ‌coach Vincent Kompany said on Tuesday. The French side, who won the trophy for the first time ‌last year, earned a nail-biting 5-4 victory in the ‌first ⁠leg when Bayern battled back from 5-2 down ⁠in the second half.

Kompany told a press conference there was a feeling among his players and Bayern fans that they were ready to book a ​spot in the competition’s ‌final.

Villarreal will be looking for a new coach when it plays back-to-back Champions League seasons for the first time after confirming Marcelino will leave at the end of the season.

Marcelino’s second spell as coach at Villarreal began in 2023 and has now seen the team deliver one of its best-ever seasons, placing third in La Liga with four games remaining, on track for its best result in 18 years. That means Champions League qualification two years running, a club first.

Atletico Madrid and Arsenal traded penalties on Wednesday (April 29, 2026) as Julian Alvarez’s second-half ​spot kick cancelled out Viktor Gyokeres’s first-half goal to earn the two sides a 1-1 draw in a Champions League semi-final ‌first leg that simmered more than it sizzled.

After Tuesday’s nine-goal thriller between Paris St Germain and ​Bayern Munich in the first semi-final in France, the Metropolitano was treated to a far more ⁠tactical affair, although the home crowd did their best to provide some early theatre by greeting the teams with an avalanche of toilet paper thrown from the stands on to the pitch.

Manchester United’s 2-1 win over Brentford on Monday (April 27, 2026) put them on the brink ​of Champions League qualification but interim manager Michael ‌Carrick said they must keep pushing to ​finish as high up the ⁠Premier League table as possible.

The victory lifted United to third place on 61 points, 11 clear of sixth-placed ‌Brighton & Hove Albion, with four games remaining.

Bayern Munich must find a way to stop Paris Saint-Germain winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia when the sides meet in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal on Tuesday (April 28, 2026).

Monaco, Chelsea and Liverpool could not.

Liverpool moved ever closer to securing Champions League football next season with a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday (April 25, 2026) but will be hoping Mohamed Salah has not played his final game for the club.

Salah limped off in the second half at Anfield holding his hamstring with less than a month of his glittering career with the Reds remaining.

Title-chasing Manchester City faces leader Arsenal in a seismic showdown at the top of the Premier League on Sunday. Troubled Chelsea desperately needs a win against Manchester United in the race for Champions League qualification, while Liverpool is also in search of a morale boost in the Merseyside derby.

Mikel Arteta’s side travels to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday nursing a a six-point lead over second-placed City as it targets a first English title since 2004.