Bayern Munich were angry after seeing a late equalizer scored for offside in Wednesday’s heartbreaking Champions League semi-final second leg defeat to Real Madrid.
The German giants moved closer to victory thanks to a rasping second-half strike from Alphonso Davies, but a quickfire double from Joselu dashed their dreams at the Bernabeu.
However, they almost took the match into extra time when Matthijs de Ligt swept the ball home in the 13th minute of added time.
There was no celebration for the visitors as the linesman had raised his flag for offside before De Ligt had even kicked the ball.
The official felt that Noussair Mazraoui had been early in the preparation and did not give the VAR a chance to intervene and make the call afterwards, as has become the custom.
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Replays showed it was an extremely close match and it looked like Mazraoui had only just managed to hold on.
“Shameful, inexplicable,” one disgruntled viewer wrote on X while another called it a “horrible decision.”
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Another posted: “100% this is theft. The linesman does not let the play proceed, calls an incorrect offside and a legitimate goal is disallowed in the final minute.
TNT Sports pundit Paul Scholes agreed with them, saying: “I’m not sure it’s offside. For the linesman to raise his flag… he’s in too much of a hurry. He has to wait.
De Ligt himself was clearly furious that his shot didn’t hold, as he gave an interview after the match.
He said: “I don’t want to say that Real Madrid always have the referees with them, but that made the difference today.
“Real, when you think they are dead, take a last breath… that’s why they have 14 Champions Leagues,” Movistar said.
De Ligt then told beIN Sport: “The linesman told me: sorry, I made a mistake. It’s a shame.”