Thomas Tuchel has hit out at a disastrous decision from the officials after Bayern Munich exited the Champions League at Real Madrid.
Bayern lost 2-1 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate following a dramatic second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, that saw Real Madrid substitute Joselu score twice late on to seal a place in the final.
Alphonso Davies’ stunning strike had put Bayern in control of the tie, before a late double from Joselu – whose goals arrived in the 88th and 91st minutes – sent the Spaniards through.
However, there was late controversy in the 13th minute of stoppage time, when Matthijs de Ligt had the ball in the net for Bayern. The Dutch defender steered home from a knockdown, though the linesman had prematurely flagged for an offside.
Replays showed that De Ligt might not have been offside, though VAR was unable to intervene as the linesman’s flag had already been raised.
Bayern were incensed at the situation and Tuchel had said it feels like a ‘betrayal’ to his side.
“There was a disastrous decision from the linesman and the referee. It feels like a betrayal in the end,” he said to TNT Sports.
“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 revealed that the referee, Szymon Marciniak, apologised following the final whistle, though again criticised a costly decision for his team.
“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.”
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