‘UEFA treated it as if beer can was thrown at the bus’

We felt completely passed over, it came down to ‘tomorrow, you’re playing’

DORTMUND: Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel accused UEFA of treating the bomb attack on their team bus as if only a “beer can” had been thrown and claimed they were only informed by text message that they would have to play their Champions League game against Monaco.

The German side were defeated 3-2 by the French club in the first leg of the quarter-final on Wednesday, 24 hours after the scheduled game had been postponed due to three explosions that rocked the Dortmund team coach and left Spain international Marc Bartra needing surgery on a broken wrist.

“We felt completely passed over, it came down to ‘tomorrow, you’re playing’,” said Tuchel. “We were told by text message. They treated it as if a beer can had been thrown at the bus. Ultimately, it was decided in Nyon in Switzerland whether or not to play next day. It was a somewhat powerless feeling.”

CHINESE GROUP BUYS AC MILAN

MILAN: Italian former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi finalised his troubled sale of soccer club AC Milan to a Chinese-led consortium on Thursday, a 740 million euro ($788 million) deal that tightens China’s grip on the game in Italy.

The deal, the biggest Chinese investment in a European club, follows retail giant Suning Commerce Group’s purchase of local rivals Inter last year. A Chinese firm also underwrites the media rights to the top league, Serie A.

It is the end of an era for Berlusconi, who bought the club in the 1980s and swiftly turned it into the top team in Europe.

UNITED FANS FACE SECURITY ALERT

LONDON: Manchester United fans without tickets have been warned not to travel to Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final against Anderlecht amid high security around the game in Belgium.

Around 1,300 English supporters are gathering in Brussels for the game with the city on high alert following Tuesday night’s bomb attack on the Borussia Dortmund team bus.

There are also fears about the chances of clashes between supporters following several incidents involving fans of another English team, Leicester City, in Madrid before Wednesday’s game against Atletico.