‘Betrayal’. Tuchel blasts refs after semifinal loss
Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel has described the Uefa referees’ decision-making as a disaster after his team was denied a late equaliser that would have taken their dramatic Champions League semifinal second leg against Real Madrid to extra time.
The former Chelsea manager was outraged that the Polish referee, Szymon Marciniak, had, on the advice of his assistant, blown for a suspect offside early in a phase of play which saw Matthijs De Ligt score an equaliser to take the game to 2-2.
Bayern had led 1-0 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate after Alphonso Davies’ 68thminute goal, but two late goals from substitute Joselu sent Real through to the final, where they will play German club Borussia Dortmund.
Thomas Tuchel, Bayern manager
“We accept the apology. But it’s a semifinal. It’s not the moment to apologise. We want the best referees and if he is not able to offer 100% then apologies are worthless.”
Yet Tuchel said Marciniak got it wrong. Of the decision by the assistant to raise the flag early, he said: “It is pretty clear – and it can’t be any other opinion – that it’s against every rule in modern football, what happened.
“The first big mistake is from the linesman. He raised the flag in a situation like this where you can never, never be sure it’s offside. To have the guts to raise the flag is a huge, huge call and it’s the wrong call.
“The referee has the chance not to whistle when we win the second ball and get a shot away within five seconds. He takes the decision to whistle and it’s against every rule.’’
Asked in his post-match press conference about De Ligt’s post-match suggestion that the officials had apologised, Tuchel became increasingly angry.
He said: “We accept the apology. But it’s a semifinal. It’s not the moment to apologise. It’s not the time to make two mistakes that are so important. Everyone is suffering and living on the edge. The referees need to be at the level and it is worthless to apologise. We want the best referees and if he is not able to offer 100% then apologies are worthless.”
Speaking to TNT Sports, Tuchel said: “We are almost through, it’s almost there and there was a very unusual mistake from our best player [goalkeeper Manuel Neuer] for the equaliser, then we conceded the second one in stoppage time.
“Then we scored one and there was a disastrous decision from the linesman and the referee. It feels like a betrayal. There was a huge fight. We left everything on the pitch and we were almost there. Now we say congratulations to Real Madrid.
“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 a very, very bad decision. It’s against the rules. It’s a disaster. It’s hard to swallow but that’s the way it is.”
De Ligt suggested that the assistant had admitted a mistake was made. The Bayern defender said: “If it is offside, it is offside, but we have rules in football and the rules say if it is not clear then you have to keep playing.’’
Real manager Carlo Ancelotti told TNT Sports: “We believed. Joselu did a fantastic job. We did really well and had a lot of energy at the end of the game. Unbelievable [attitude of players].
“I’m really grateful to them, they work really hard, I think this is the best squad I have ever had in my career.” – Telegraph Group