Fans praise referee for brilliant decision as he not awarding penalty to Dembele

Fans have praised referee Daniele Orsato for a 'brilliant decision' during Borussia Dortmund's Champions League semi-final win against PSG.

Orsato initially awarded a penalty to PSG after Mats Hummels' challenge on Ousmane Dembele on the edge of the area in the second half.

The initial contact with Dembele's left foot appeared to be outside the area, but he fell into it, and Rio Ferdinand felt it was a penalty at the end of the game.

However, the Italian changed his mind within a couple of seconds and awarded a free-kick instead, with fans praising his hawk-like eye and quick decision-making.

A throng of PSG players immediately surrounded him to protest the switch but Orsato stood by his call.

Dortmund were leading 1-0 in the match after a Mats Hummels header and were up 2-0 on aggregate, a scoreline they eventually won by. VAR confirmed that Orsato's decision was correct.

'Brilliant decision from the referee,' one fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

'That’s a TOP decision from the referee. Let’s be real here. That’s actually class,' said another.

'What a decision from the referee. Wow,' another commented.

'Wow that was a quick change of heart from the referee in the CL semi, but at least he’s got the decision correct,' one said.

Another used it as a chance to slam English officials, writing: 'What. A. Decision. Shame English referees would now spend 5 minutes checking VAR for that decision. Fix it @FA_PGMOL.'

'Why can’t every ref be like this. Every single time I see this man referee a match he’s spot on with almost every decision,' one said.

Dortmund came into the tie in Paris with a 1-0 advantage thanks to a Niclas Fullkrug goal in the first leg.

PSG had many chances across both legs to score, hitting the post and bar multiple times, and wonderkid Warren Zaire-Emery will regret missing an open goal just three minutes before Hummels' goal.

The French champions had 30 shots and 70 per cent of the ball on Thursday night but couldn't find the back of the net.

Kylian Mbappe looked exasperated at full-time after once again falling short ahead of his move to Real Madrid in the summer.

For Dortmund, it is a first Champions League final since 2013, when they lost 2-1 to Bayern Munich, and this year could well see a repeat of that depending on how their rivals get on in Madrid on Wednesday night.

It is all the more remarkable considering that they are fifth in the Bundesliga, 24 points off Bayer Leverkusen.