Borussia Dortmund chief executive officer Hans-Joachim Watzke has accused referee Danny Makkelie of arrogance over his penalty call in the club's Champions League exit to Chelsea.
The Bundesliga side slipped out of Europe after failing to build on their 1-0 first-leg advantage at Stamford Bridge, with a 2-0 defeat on the night meaning a 2-1 aggregate loss to their Premier League hosts.
Chelsea's ultimate winner came from a Kai Havertz penalty, but only when Makkelie allowed the forward to retake it due to encroachment after he missed his first attempt.
Watzke however felt the Dutch referee was guilty of arrogant behaviour in his decision-making, and suggested he was too easily swayed from his gut decisions by a boisterous home atmosphere.
"You always had the bad feeling that he wanted to be the most important man on the pitch," he told SID.
"His gestures, his facial expressions, he really liked [to perform to the crowd].
"Instinct was a foreign word to him. We lost control of the game too early, and congratulations to Chelsea. They deserve to go through.
"But the decision to retake the penalty was very controversial and the original call itself was a 50-50 decision. There's no question about that at all."
Chelsea were originally awarded the penalty after VAR intervened over a handball offence from Dortmund defender Marius Wolf.
Havertz hit the right post with his first attempt, but Makkelie allowed him to retake it after replays showed players from both teams encroached into the box.
Watzke was far from the only Dortmund figure to express their discontent with the decision, with Jude Bellingham also voicing his frustration after the game.
Conte: Napoli need to focus on improvement, not Serie A lead
Napoli should pay little attention to their place at the top of Serie A, so says Antonio Conte, who has demanded improvement from his team.
Romelu Lukaku's second-half goal handed Napoli a 1-0 win over Roma on Sunday.
That victory sent Napoli back to the summit of Serie A, with Conte's side one point ahead of Atalanta, Inter, Fiorentina and Lazio, while Juventus are only four points back in a six-team title race.
Napoli needed to get back to winning ways after a draw against Inter and a 3-0 loss to Atalanta before the international break, and Conte insists his team must sharpen up.
"Before the match, I told the lads not to look at the table, but to focus on ourselves and improving what we are working on," Conte told Sky Sport Italia.
"I maintain that now too because we need to take a series of steps to raise the level.
"I was satisfied with the performance for a good 65 minutes today, we could’ve taken more of our chances and were up against a strong Roma who have great players.
"Roma were also making their debut under a new coach and therefore were very eager to prove themselves, but we still should've dealt with the final 15-20 minutes better, as we sat too deep and made it complicated for ourselves."
Roma, playing under new boss Claudio Ranieri, came close to equalising when Artem Dovbyk hit the woodwork with a header.
Ranieri came out of retirement to take charge of Roma following Ivan Juric's dismissal earlier in November, though the visitors had just six shots and accumulated only 0.6 expected goals (xG) at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
"If we look back, we have some problems and that is why I was called. We were up against a team that is fighting to win the Scudetto," Ranieri told Sky Sport Italia.
"Having said all of that, I am happy with the performance from my players. We made some mistakes that we will talk about during the week, but the hunger, the determination to get back on track was there.
"We have a lot of work to do, but I feel positive.
"We know there is work to be done, we have to focus on reacting rather than sitting there feeling sorry for ourselves.
"The [players] need the right character to help themselves and then others. Naturally, when I arrived, the team was a little closed up, but I think we started to open up a bit by the second half."
Dortmund got 'fully deserved victory' over Freiburg, says Sahin
Nuri Sahin praised Borussia Dortmund for getting "a fully deserved victory" over nine-man Freiburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Dortmund remained perfect on home soil this season as they cruised to a 4-0 win at Signal Iduna Park after Patrick Osterhage and Junior Adamu were both sent off for the visitors.
Maximilian Bieier and Felix Nmecha scored in the first half before Julian Brandt and Jamie Gittens secured the points in the second during a dominant display as they limited Freiburg to just three shots on target at the other end.
Dortmund have now won 11 home games in a row in all competitions. Since the Bundesliga was founded, they have won more consecutive home matches in a row only once, winning 14 in a row at home in 1994.
Sahin has come under pressure recently for the Black and Yellow's less impressive away form, but he was delighted with the showing he saw from his side.
"We started very well. We controlled the spaces. We allowed very little," Sahin said.
"Overall, it was a mature performance from my boys. We scored great goals, showed good energy.
"We kept them away from our goal throughout. It was a fully deserved victory and I, as a coach, am very satisfied."
Dortmund were, however, without Serhou Guirassy, who is their top scorer in the Bundesliga with six goals, as he pulled out of the game due to a virus.
Next up for Sahin's side is a trip to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League, and the head coach is hopeful he will be available for that tie.
"[Saturday] morning again, we got the bad news. Serhou tried everything to play today, but it did not work," Sahin added.
"I hope it will be enough for Zagreb. He is a very important player for us."
Borussia Dortmund 4-0 Freiburg: Sahin's side remain perfect on home soil
Borussia Dortmund maintained their perfect home record this season as they eased to a 4-0 victory over nine-man Freiburg at Signal Iduna Park.
Maximilian Beier, Felix Nmecha, Julian Brandt and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens were all on target for Nuri Sahin's side, who leapfrogged their opponent to fifth place in the Bundesliga table.
The hosts broke through in the seventh minute as Beier latched onto Ramy Bensebaini's throughball before finishing, while Nmecha's superb long-time strike doubled the lead five minutes before the break.
Freiburg were seeking their first away win over Dortmund since October 2001, and their task became even harder in the 63rd minute when Patrick Osterhage was dismissed for a second bookable offence.
Sahin's side capitalised on their numerical advantage three minutes later, as Brandt floated a delicious free-kick into the top corner.
Bynoe-Gittens then completed the rout in the 77th minute, with the visitors' misery compounded right at the death when Junior Adamu was given his marching orders for violent conduct.
Data Debrief: Home comforts continue for Dortmund
Dortmund have now won all six of their home league games in 2024-25, stretching their streak across all competitions to 11 matches - only topping that with a run of 14 straight wins in 1994.
They are also now unbeaten in 17 home league meetings with Freiburg, who have failed to score in five Bundesliga outings this term - with only St. Pauli (six) unable to find the net on more occasions.
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