Bayern's Matthijs de Ligt slams match officials

Bayern’s Matthijs de Ligt slams match officials for ‘shameful’ decisions in defeat against Real Madrid

Arnav Kholkar

Bayern Munich center-back Matthijs de Ligt was left fuming following a controversial end to his team’s 2-1 defeat against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals. Referee Szymon Marciniak and his crew have since faced strong criticism from fans and pundits.

Matthijs de Ligt slams match officials

De Ligt appeared for a post-match interview following Bayern Munich’s defeat in the Champions League semi-finals. They crashed out 4-3 on aggregate, but players and manager Thomas Tuchel were left unimpressed with the referee’s decisions.

Speaking to beIN Sports after the game, de Ligt said,

“I said already in two interviews, if it’s offside, it’s offside. I think we make rules in football and the rule says if It’s not a clear offside, you have to keep playing. And if you go out in the last minute like this…

“I think it is a big, big, big mistake and big disgrace. If it’s offside you can always check it. But how will you know anything if you don’t check it? The second goal of Joselu was also almost offside. If he (the referee) whistles, there’s nothing we can do, but the play carried on.

“This is a shame. The linesman told me, ‘I’m sorry, I made a mistake’.

As a result, Bayern Munich crashed out of the competition despite a heroic effort to stay in the game against Real Madrid.

Bayern’s season: A success or a failure?

Bayern Munich are one of the rarer teams that expect to win the treble every year. In fact, even if they miss out on one of the three major trophies, questions are raised about the manager and the players.

This year has been awful for the Bavarians as they lost out on the Bundesliga title to first-time champions Bayer Leverkusen, who currently lead by 15 points with two games left. They also suffered multiple defeats this season and have already played multiple games in which they have thrown away leads. Bayern have already lost two more games than they did last season.

Now, with Thomas Tuchel set to depart in the summer, the club can focus on building under a new manager in the near future.

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