Highlights
- Matthijs de Ligt thought he had equalised for Bayern Munich in injury time but the referee had already blown his whistle after the linesman raised his flag.
- Replays show the decision was the incorrect one, with Bayern denied the opportunity to progress in extra-time.
- Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel was fuming after the match, branding the decision “disastrous”.
Real Madrid showed why they are the kings of the Champions League again on Wednesday night as they produced a stunning late comeback against Bayern Munich to reach another final. A brace from former Stoke forward Joselu turned the game on its head after Alphonso Davies’ earlier goal.
Madrid’s victory was not without controversy, though, after Bayern were denied an injury-time equaliser by the linesman’s flag. Matthijs de Ligt thought he had made it 2-2 when he swept the ball home from Thomas Muller’s header but the referee had already blown his whistle for an offside against the former Ajax defender.
De Ligt, though, was not involved in that stage of the build-up play and should not have been flagged offside. Instead, it was De Ligt’s teammate Noussair Mazrouai who challenged for the ball, and footage from beIN SPORTS appears to show that Mazrouai himself was not offside.
Video Clears Up Offside Debate
Mazrouai was onside
The incident was a huge talking point on the night, with post-match reaction dominated by the disallowed goal rather than Joselu’s remarkable brace. De Ligt himself revealed after the match that the linesman responsible for the error had apologised to him.
“If it’s offside, it’s offside,” De Ligt told beIN SPORTS. “But I think we made rules in football and the rules are that if it’s not a clear offside – which it wasn’t because I don’t see it yet, if it’s offside or not – you have to keep playing.
“If you go in the last minutes and you whistle like this, I think it’s a big mistake. If it’s offside or not you can check it, but if you don’t check it, how can you see it? The second goal (for Madrid), Rudiger is almost offside. If he whistles, OK, but now there’s a difference and this is a shame.
“The linesman said to me, ‘I’m sorry, I made a mistake.’ I can’t buy anything for that. I’m not the type of person who wants to blame a loss or win on the referee but it means you have to win because you win 2-1. I think if it’s a rule, it’s a rule.”
Tuchel Brands Decision “Disastrous”
“The linesman said sorry but that does not help”
Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel, meanwhile, blasted the officials, branding the decision “disastrous”. He said: “The linesman said sorry but that does not help. There are two mistakes. The first big mistake is from the linesman. He raised his flag straight away; to raise your flag in a situation like this, you have to be very, very sure it’s offside.
“To have the guts, the balls, to raise the flag like this is a huge, huge call, and it is the wrong call. We got the shot away within five seconds [of the flag] and the referee has the chance not to whistle, but he whistles. It is against every rule.”
Tuchel added: “We accept that we lost, it is what it is, but it should not have happened. It would not have happened at the other end. It is tough to swallow. I am really angry. If anyone did not deserve that it’s Manuel (Neuer, who made a mistake for Joselu’s equaliser).”
Carlo Ancelotti’s Response to Bayern’s Referee Complaints
The Italian chief brushed aside Bayern Munich’s complaints, while also suggesting that Real Madrid were on the wrong side of a controversial call.
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