What Champions League linesman told Bayern Munich after controversially disallowing goal

Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel claimed he received an apology for the ‘absolute disaster’ of a late offside decision after his side were dramatically dumped out of the Champions League at Real Madrid. The German giants led late on through Alfonso Davies’s stunning strike, only for former Stoke and Newcastle man Joselu to score twice in the dying minutes to complete a sensational turnaround.

But there was still time for controversy after the Real substitute had struck from close range in the first minute of injury time. Noussair Mazraoui was flagged offside for Bayern as he teed up Mathias de Ligt, who then hammered a shot into the net just as referee Szymon Marciniak was blowing up for a free-kick.

Tuchel was duly booked for protesting the decision, incensed the official had not allowed play to continue as his protocol with offsides since the introduction of VAR. And to compound his anger, television replays later indicated that Mazraoui was onside and the flag should not have gone up.

The 50-year-old said he had received an apology for the call, but dismissed it as meaningless. “It’s a semi-final, everyone has to go to their limit. The referee is supposed to be the best,” he told DAZN. “It’s not the time for apologies, it’s not the time for such a mistake. What does an apology help us?”

Underlining the apparent mistake, he added: “It’s an absolute disaster. This scene must be played out to the end. That’s the rule. The linesman made the mistake, and the referee made the second mistake. It’s a violation of the rules.”

De Ligt was equally scathing and also revealed he had been offered an apology. “We made rules in football, if it’s not a clear offside – what it wasn’t – you have to keep playing,” he told TNT Sports. “I think this is a big, big mistake.

“If it’s offside to not, you can check it. But how do you know if you don’t check it? The linesman said to me I’m sorry, I made a mistake. But I take nothing from that. It’s been a shame.”

Tuchel, who will leave Bayern this summer empty handed from the 2023/24 campaign, made the questionable decision to haul off Harry Kane late on with his side still 1-0 up. He made four changes in all, but was defiant about his tactical decisions.

“It hurts. It’ll take a while to recover, but on the one hand it’s a loss where we left it all out on the pitch,” he said. “Of course, it’s tough to accept. It’s part of reality. No regrets. But on the other, there were too many injuries, a few too many substitutions, too many cramps.”