
Paris Saint-Germain secured their spot in the Bigger Cup final after a draw against Bayern Munich, setting up a clash with Arsenal. Bayern expressed frustration over controversial refereeing decisions during the match.
Mentioned in this story
The state-owned football team itâs OK to like (and proof that sportswashing works), Paris Saint-Germain booked their place in Bigger Cup final courtesy of a draw against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. Like Shaun Murphy in Mondayâs nightâs thrilling denouement of the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre, the German champions didnât do a great deal wrong and were similarly gracious in defeat despite their obvious disappointment. âThe level of both teams was very, very high,â sighed Vincent Kompany as he ruminated on his teamâs exit. âPSG have so much quality, theyâve probably been the best team in Europe in the last two years.â A team that is currently so good it was forced to replace deadweight no-marks such as Kylian MbappĂ©, Lionel Messi and Neymar to finally shed their tag as Bigger Cup nearlymen and bottlers, the willingness of their replacements to do the dirty work of defending played no small part in helping PSG get over the line.
For all their graciousness in defeat, Bayernâs departure from the tournament wasnât entirely unclouded by rancour. It was understandable considering that ultimately, they were diddled by a PSG penalty in the first leg that should never have been awarded. On Wednesday Bayern felt further aggrieved by two more handball decisions that didnât go their way, one of which turned out to be entirely correct and an initial one that still doesnât look entirely incorrect after multiple viewings. âItâs astonishing, to say the least, that a referee with only 15 [Bigger Cup] appearances is allowed to take charge of such a match,â parped Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen of Portuguese referee JoĂŁo Pinheiroâs performance. âAnd that perhaps also explains some of the decisions.â
While Mikel Arteta, his coaching staff and Ben White will spend the next couple of weeks lying awake wondering how best to solve a problem like Khvicha Kvaratskhelia without creating 99 others elsewhere, no end of Arsenal and PSG fans will endure similarly sleepless nights stressing over how they will get tickets for the final in Budapest. With just 16,824 general admission tickets going to each club, almost exactly half of the 67,215 capacity of the Puskas Arena will be reserved for âfriendsâ of the dysfunctional âUefa familyâ. While 10,000 fans from each club will get tickets for a reasonably priced âŹ70, the next cheapest are twice that amount while the most expensive Category A admission slips are just shy of a grand. With airlines and Budapest boarding houses also shamelessly muscling in on the gouging act, many Arsenal fans will consider the small fortune begged, borrowed or stolen a small price to pay for the privilege of watching Artetaâs Fun Boatâą drop anchor in the Danube.
PSG qualified for the final by securing a draw against Bayern Munich in the semi-finals.
Bayern Munich's CEO criticized the referee's performance, citing controversial handball decisions that affected the match outcome.
Each club will receive 16,824 general admission tickets for the final at the Puskas Arena.
Tickets for the final range from âŹ70 for general admission to nearly âŹ1,000 for the most expensive Category A seats.

TchouamĂ©ni y Valverde podrĂan enfrentar sanciones severas en el Real Madrid, incluyendo multas y suspensiĂłn de salario.
Uncertainty Surrounds Vancouver Whitecaps as 'Save the Caps' Gains Momentum
See every story in Sports â including breaking news and analysis.
Join John Brewin from 8pm BST for hot Bigger Vase semi-final updates from Aston Villa 2-1 Nottingham Forest (agg: 2-2 aet; 4-3 on pens), while Niall McVeigh will be at the wheel with full coverage of Crystal Palace 2-1 Shakhtar Donetsk (agg: 5-2) in the last four of Tin Pot.
10pm 6 May: âIâm excited by what the future holds for this amazing group of playersâ â Manchester City boss AndrĂ©e Jeglertz pays tribute to his team after they ended Chelseaâs run of six consecutive WSL titles, crowned champions after Arsenal could only draw 1-1 at Brighton.
10.30am 7 May: WSL top-scorer Bunny Shaw decides to leave Manchester City this summer at the end of her contract.

Composite: Guardian Pictures; PA; SPP/Shutterstock; Danehouse/Getty Images; Getty Images
double quotation markDoing some half-hearted/@rsed research of potential Bigger Vase finalists, Braga, I drifted into a section about the cityâs famous old inhabitants. One of these was a 16th-century skeptic philosopher called Francisco Sanches, who claimed that nobody knows anything, particularly those who say they do. With a European campaign â that was helmed, briefly, by both Big Ange and Sean Dyche (et al) â potentially ending in an unlikely final, Forest seem to have proved old Fran-Sanâs pointâ â Andrew Boulton.
double quotation markItâs interesting that Declan Rice thinks that Arsenalâs achievements canât be underestimated (yesterdayâs Football Daily). The only things that canât be underestimated are things that are extremely small. Anything large can easily be underestimatedâ â Bob Cushion (and others).
double quotation markMaybe Chester and Wrexham (yesterdayâs Football Daily, full email edition) could go down the Forest/Derby route and rename the A483 to âPhil Parkinson Wayâ?â â Jim Hearson.
double quotation markAm I the only one who saw this fine picture of Pep Guardiola and Jordan Pickford at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday night and thought: âAll this really needs is the addition of an âIâ and an âSâ to be perfect?ââ â Adam Sherlock.

We donât get ⊠ah. Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPA
If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Todayâs letter oâ the day winner is ⊠Adam Sherlock, who gets a copy of Classic Football Shirts. Itâs out now and the Guardian Bookshop is offering discounted copies here if youâre not successful. The are loads of other top reads on their website, too. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here.
Get your ears around the latest episode of Football Weekly, in which Max Rushden, Barry Glendenning, Mark Langdon and Archie Rhind-Tutt get their PSG chat on and discuss how Arsenal fans now donât have to worry about the prospect of Harry Kane winning Bigger Cup at their expense.
Neymar, youâll well know by now, is rarely out of the public eye in Brazil. And the Seleçãoâs all-time top scorer has seemingly been doing his level best to keep things that way, after being forced to apologise to teenage Santos teammate Robinho Jr for slapping him during training. As you do. According to Brazilian media, the handbags apparently occurred because Neymar didnât appreciate being dribbled past by the 18-year-old. âIf you want an apology in front of the press, here it is. I had already apologised to him and to his family. I crossed the line,â sniffed Neymar after scoring in their 1-1 Copa Sudamericana draw against Recoleta in Paraguay. âHeâs a boy I like very much, for whom I have a special affection. It happens in football.â

Tough love. Photograph: Daniel Duarte/AFP/Getty Images
Jan-Christian Dreesen is not the only one that took Bayernâs defeat to PSG badly. âWe have to look at some of the phases that were decided by the officials across the two games,â wailed the trendy Belgian Vincent Kompany. âItâs never an excuse for everything but it matters. If we look at both legs probably too much went against us.â
The latest Premier League accounts show just how much chief suit Richard Masters has been trousering in the gig: ÂŁ2.6m, including ÂŁ1.1m from a longstanding incentive scheme in 2024-25.
Manchester City Women won the Womenâs Super League title after Arsenal failed to beat Brighton but will lose star striker Khadija Shaw, who is on track to win the WSL Golden Boot for the third straight season, this summer. Read Tom Garryâs exclusive.
A big win for Liverpool supporters: The club has reduced plans to increase season ticket prices for the next three seasons, reports Andy Hunter.
Fifa confirmed a global ban for Gianluca Prestianni that will rule the Benfica winger out of two World Cup games in the US if he is selected by Argentina.
Victorian premier Jacinta Allan has overturned a decision not to screen Socceroos matches at Federation Square in Melbourne after protests.
Exclusive story by Matt Hughes: The Independent Football Regulator (IFR) has been urged to stop Premier League clubs from accepting sponsorship from gambling companies unlicensed in the UK.
Sad times for fans of a certain age: Panini World Cup sticker albums will become a thing of the past after the centenary finals in 2030.
âI was just a little freak in the works.â Jamie Vardy gets his chat on with Nick Ames about his rollercoaster career.

Photograph: Netflix/Courtesy of Netflix
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is the perfect attacking scalpel for PSGâs surgical brilliance. Arsenal, beware, warns Barney Ronay.
But the Gunners no longer fear falling short and now have a clear sight of immortality, retorts David Hytner.
Who will join Coventry and Ipswich in the top flight: Millwall, Hull City, Middlesbrough or Southampton? Matt Furniss has crunched the numbers for you.
The story of Manchester Cityâs WSL title triumph. By Tom Garry, who also dishes out his player-by-player ratings for their season.
Sid Lowe questions whether the curtains will close on Diego Simeoneâs 15-year spell at AtlĂ©tico Madrid and what that means for the club.
And Jonathan Liew wants you to imagine eating an entire dover sole with the bones left in, all while under the gaze of Trevor Francis, to lead you into this piece about Michael Carrick and Manchester United.
May 1985 and Charlie Nicholas shares some mirth-making with strongman Geoff Capes and the Duke of Edinburgh, during a Variety Club of Great Britain Luncheon at Londonâs trendy Cafe Royal.

Photograph: PA