‘Not my cup of tea’: Rio Ferdinand fumes at French referee Clement Turpin

Rio Ferdinand has slammed the first-half display of French referee Clement Turpin for his officiating of Bayern Munich’s quarter-final second leg against Manchester City.

Turpin was late for kick-off and then proceeded to hand out an initial red card to Bayern defender Dayot Upamecano that was then rescinded as Erling Haaland was offside, show five yellow cards, and award the visitors a penalty that they missed.

Ferdinand was fuming with some of the referee’s decisions and claimed that he was making the enthralling European encounter ‘about him’ rather than the match.

‘I’ve not liked the ref today, not my cup of tea,’ Ferdinand told BT Sport.

‘He wants it to be more about him than the game,’ he added.

Turpin (left) brandished five yellow cards and a red card during the second-leg clash

Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern Munich were attempting to overturn a three-goal first-leg deficit against the Premier League champions who are chasing a first European title.

The German outfit started brightly but saw their momentum frequently interrupted by Turpin who stopped play for numerous fouls but awarded just two minutes of stoppage time.

Turpin was part of an all-French officials line-up for Wednesday’s knockout stage clash that saw Nicolas Danot, Benjamin Pages, and Jeremie Pignard run the lines and man the dugout.

The 40-year-old chief in charge isn’t unaccustomed to big European matches after previously refereeing last year’s Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool, along with previously overseeing Manchester United’s 2021 Europa Cup final.