Bayern’s De Ligt slams ‘shameful’ offside in UCL exit

Thomas Tuchel said the linesman apologized to him for a late offside during Bayern Munich’s Champions League semi-final exit to Real Madrid on Wednesday, while Matthijs de Ligt called it call of “shame”.

De Ligt thought he had equalized in stoppage time when the ball fell to him in the Madrid area and he scored, but referee Szymon Marciniak had already stopped play for offside. The match ended in a dramatic 2–1 victory over Madrid a few minutes later, which saw them advance to the final 4–3 on aggregate.

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Speaking to TNT Sport, Tuchel said: “It was a disastrous decision by the linesman and the referee. It almost feels like a betrayal at the end because of that decision. It was a huge fight, we left everything on the pitch We were We’re almost there Now we have to congratulate Real Madrid.

“The linesman apologized… The referee doesn’t need to signal. He sees we win the second ball, he sees we get a shot,” he added. “Whistling is a very, very bad decision. It’s against the rules, and it’s a bad decision on both sides. It’s a disaster, hard to swallow, but it is what it is.”

After the match, De Ligt said Bayern did not have the same opportunity as Madrid from the official, pointing to Joselu’s winning goal, flagged for offside after scoring and later awarded by the video assistant referee (VAR).

“I think we all know the rules. If the offside call is not clear, you have to keep playing! That’s the rule! I find it a bit of a shame. Joselu’s goal was also almost offside and they continue to play, so why not with us,” said De Ligt.

Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti dismissed Bayern’s complaints in a post-match press conference. He pointed out that his team were denied Nacho Fernandez’s equalizer due to a push on Joshua Kimmich, who “dived”, Ancelotti claimed.

“The gesture is quite clear, the linesman raised his flag, the referee blew his whistle and we stopped,” Ancelotti said. “If they complain about that, we can complain about Nacho’s disallowed goal, because Kimmich dived, they were both pushing each other.”