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Bayern Munich defender Matthijs de Ligt revealed that the linesman apologised to him for denying the equaliser against Real Madrid in Champions League SF on May 8. The game saw Carlo Ancelotti’s men making a stunning comeback to seal their spot in the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League (UCL) final by taking down Bayern. During the game, Real were leading 4-3 on aggregate when De Ligt scored a goal into injury time at the end of the second half.
De Ligt scored into stoppage time, which could have been a 2-2 goal and would send the game into extra time. However, the goal didn’t count because the referee blew the whistle for an offside before the play was completed. The Dutch defender was frustrated by the decision, noting that the goal would have taken the game to extra time.
The linesman told me, ‘I am sorry’: De Ligt after 2-1 loss to Madrid
After the game, Le Migt revealed that the linesman apologised for raising the flag for offside. He told the reporter, “The linesman said to me, ‘I’m sorry, I made a mistake. The rule says that if it’s not clear offside … you have to keep playing. And if you go in the last minute and you whistle like this, I think this is a big mistake. If it’s offside or not, I don’t know, VAR can check it, but if you don’t check it, how can you see it? This is a shame.”
Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel said it was a “disastrous decision from the linesman and from the referee. It feels almost like a betrayal in the end because of that decision,” he said. “The linesman said sorry. That does not help. To raise the flag in a decision like this, in a close decision in the last minute, and the referee as well… The referee does not have to whistle,”
He added. “He sees that we win the second ball, he sees that we get the shot away. To whistle is a very very bad decision. It’s against the rules and it’s a bad decision from both of them.”
