Tuchel Claims the Offside Choice "felt like betrayal"

Thomas Tuchel, the manager of Bayern Munich, remarked that it “feels like a betrayal” as the referees stopped play before his team equalised against Real Madrid in stoppage time.

In the second leg of their Champions League semi-final, Bayern was ahead 1-0 until Joselu, a substitute, struck twice in three minutes in the 88th minute.

Matthijs de Ligt thought he had equalised with Bayern down 2-1 in stoppage time, but assistant referee Tomasz Listkiewicz had already raised his flag for offside.

Television replays revealed that the initial call may not have been offside and that the video assistant referee (VAR) would have needed to review it. Real defenders halted before De Ligt blasted into the net.

VAR could not get involved because play had stopped. “It was a very, very bad decision” and “against the rules,” Tuchel said to TNT Sports.

“The linesman and the referee made a terrible decision. In the end, it seems like a betrayal,” he remarked.

“The linesman apologises, but it doesn’t make a difference. Raising the flag at this particular moment…

“We get the second ball, and the referee sees that we get the shot.

“It’s hard to swallow but that’s the way it is.”

Later on, Tuchel revealed that Szymon Marciniak, the referee for the 2022 World Cup final, had also expressed regret, but he claimed it “does not help”.

“Everyone must push themselves to the absolute limit, endure pain, and play flawlessly. Tuchel stated, “Therefore, the referee must also be at that level.”

Simply said, offering justifications after the fact is ineffective. This is the reason you are on the pitch: you are the greatest. And up until the very end, we are entitled to anticipate that.”

He said ‘sorry, I made a mistake’ – De Ligt

After the game, Listkiewicz apologised, according to Netherlands defender De Ligt.

“I apologise, I made a mistake,” he stated, according to De Ligt.

“In football, rules were formed. According to the rules, you must continue playing even if it’s not a clear offside. This is a grave error.”

According to Christina Unkel, a former Fifa referee and CBS referee analyst, the officials made two errors in their verdict.

“The first error is by the assistant in raising the flag, which goes against the direction of holding the flag during the attacking phase of play,” she stated.

“The referee made a second mistake by following that advice and raising his voice.

“The greatest trio in Europe would be this Polish group. It’s an extremely unexpected choice.”

Manuel Neuer mishandled a weak attempt from Vinicius Jr., which contributed to Joselu’s equaliser.

The Germany keeper said: “We’ve been eliminated in the last moments, behind 1-0 till the 85th minute. Anyone who’s ever played football understands how I’m feeling right now.

“I find it to be really bitter. The ball travelled a little higher than I had anticipated, making it harder to catch hold of it. I had expected it to rest closer to my chest.”

“No one will point a finger at him and he is the most unhappy one,” stated Tuchel.

In 99 out of 100 attempts, he succeeds. It’s simply incredibly bitter.”