Offside decision ‘felt like betrayal’ – Bayern Munich manager
Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel expressed deep frustration after a stoppage-time equalizer against Real Madrid was nullified by officials, describing the decision as feeling “like a betrayal.”
Bayern had maintained a 1-0 lead in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final until the 88th minute when substitute Joselu scored twice within three minutes.
In the 13th minute of stoppage time, Bayern’s Matthijs de Ligt appeared to score an equalizer, but the assistant referee had already flagged for offside. Although Real’s defenders had stopped playing, subsequent TV replays suggested the offside call was questionable and might have been overturned by the video assistant referee (VAR).
However, because the play was stopped, VAR could not review the decision. Speaking to TNT Sports, Tuchel criticized the call as “a very, very bad decision” and claimed it was “against the rules.”
“There was a disastrous decision from the linesman and the referee. It feels like a betrayal in the end,” he said.
“The linesman says sorry but that does not help. To raise the flag in a moment like this…
“The referee sees we get the second ball and we get the shot.
“It’s hard to swallow but that’s the way it is.”
Tuchel later confirmed referee Szymon Marciniak, who took charge of the 2022 World Cup final, also apologised, but said it “does not help”.
“Everyone has to go to their limit; everyone has to suffer; everyone has to play without making mistakes. So the referee has to be at that level too,” said Tuchel.
“It just doesn’t help to make excuses after the fact. You are on the field for this reason, because you are the best there is. And we have the right to expect that until the end.”
Real play Borussia Dortmund in the final at Wembley on 1 June.
He said ‘sorry, I made a mistake’ – De Ligt
Netherlands defender De Ligt said the assistant referee apologised for the decision after full-time.
“[He] said ‘I am sorry, I made a mistake’,” De Ligt said.
“We made rules in football. The rules said if it’s not a clear offside you have to keep playing. This is a big mistake.”
Christina Unkel, former Fifa referee and referee analyst for CBS, said there were two mistakes around the decision by the officials.
“The first error is by the assistant in raising the flag, which goes against the direction of holding the flag during the attacking phase of play,” she said.
“The second error is by the referee in accepting that recommendation and blowing his whistle.
“This Polish trio would be considered the best in Europe. It is a very surprising decision.”
Joselu’s equalizer followed a blunder by Manuel Neuer, who mishandled a soft shot from Vinicius Jr.
The Germany keeper said: “Anyone who’s ever played football knows how I’m feeling right now – that we’ve been knocked out in the closing stages, having led 1-0 until the 85th minute.
“It’s extremely bitter for me. I expected the ball to land a bit differently to my chest but it went a bit higher and it was difficult to get a hold of it.”
Tuchel said: “No-one will point a finger at him and he is the most unhappy one.
“Ninety-nine out of 100 times he makes it. It is just very, very bitter.”