Thomas Tuchel claims assistant referee apologised for ‘betrayal’ in Champions League

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Thomas Tuchel said that he was apologized to by the assistant referee who raised his flag too soon and might have prevented Bayern Munich from scoring a late goal that could have tied the match against Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals.

At the Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, the home team managed to make an impressive comeback towards the end of the game. The substitute player, Joselu, who had not initially started the match, came on as a replacement and successfully altered the course of the game in the final minutes, changing the result in favor of the hosts. Prior to this, Bayern had been ahead due to a goal scored by Alphonso Davies.

However, Bayern managed to score once more during the last moments of extra time when Matthijs de Ligt hit a powerful shot from inside Real Madrid's box after receiving a long pass into the penalty area.

The aim of the player was cancelled as the assistant referee signaled and blew the whistle just a few seconds before De Ligt kicked the ball. Both Noussair Mazraoui and De Ligt were declared to be in an offside position. However, upon reviewing the footage, it was observed that it was a narrow decision.

Tuchel was very angry because the offside flag wasn't postponed to give the attacking team a chance to finish their move, which is what usually happens now that VAR is used. But the flag went up before VAR could do anything, so the goal couldn't be given.

During an interview with TNT Sports, Tuchel expressed his disappointment with the officials, particularly Poland’s Szymon Marciniak, who he deemed made a terrible decision. Tuchel also said that he and his team had given their all during the match and felt betrayed by the outcome. Finally, he congratulated Real Madrid on their victory.

The professional in charge of watching over the sidelines expresses remorse, however, this action is not beneficial. To signal an issue like this at a crucial moment is unjustifiable. The person in charge of managing the game observes that we obtained ownership of the second ball and thus, we were able to take a shot at the goal - this is an exceedingly inappropriate call. It contradicts the established regulations and is a catastrophic decision. It's difficult to accept but unfortunately, this is the reality."

Andriy Lunin, who plays as the goalkeeper for Real Madrid, seemed to pause prior to De Ligt shooting as he had already picked up on the offside signal.

Tuchel upheld his decision to substitute Harry Kane in the 85th minute despite Bayern leading by only one goal. The reason provided by the coach was the captain of England had some issues with his back, which prevented him from continuing in the game.

In his first season for the German club, Kane has scored 44 goals out of 45 and is currently the top scorer for Bayern. He has scored eight goals in the Champions League alone. However, in a recent match, Kane was substituted for Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, who has managed to score three goals in all competitions so far this season.

There was a chance for extra time, but then Joselu scored once more in the 92nd minute, winning the game for Madrid and propelling them to the final. The equalizer from Joselu occurred due to a costly mistake made by Bayern's goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who up until that moment had been performing exceedingly well and was considered the standout player of the match.

Tuchel shared with TNT Sports that he felt compelled to substitute his attackers and acknowledged Bayern's optimistic outlook before Madrid's surprising comeback.

In Madrid, playing against Real Madrid, you can never be entirely certain. Perhaps we could have displayed more precision and composure within the opposing team's side of the field. Our initial lineup consisted of four forwards, but regrettably, all four of them were sidelined due to either injury or muscle cramps.

"Well, the reason is that when you reach the 88th minute, you feel like the end of the game is near. It wasn't our most outstanding performance, but we didn't need to be flawless, we simply needed to perform well enough at that time."