Tuchel blasts offside call after Real Madrid defeat: "An absolute disaster"

A controversial situation arose towards the end of Bayern Munich's 2-1 Champions League semi-final defeat to Real Madrid when referee Szymon Marciniak whistled for offside before Matthijs de Ligt put the ball into the net.

The goal didn't count and the VAR team couldn't go back to review the situation because the referee had blown his whistle early after the linesman had raised his flag.

De Ligt lashed out at the decision after the game, describing it as a "big disgrace", and Tuchel spoke in a similar vein.

"This is a disaster. It's an absolute disaster," Tuchel said of the situation.

"They let the game continue before Real's second goal. The scene has to be played to the end, that's the clear rule. The linesman makes the first mistake, the referee the second. It's a clear violation of the rules," the Bayern coach fumed.

Reflecting on the defeat more generally, Tuchel said:

“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. 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. 

We started with a front four and by the end they were all off the pitch. And then ‘Manu’ [Neuer], who had been exceptional in saving us all night, made a mistake he wouldn’t make in another 100 years.”