Cristiano Ronaldo caught an unexpected ricochet shot when Bayern Munich star Thomas Muller complained about the officiating in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinals against Real Madrid.
The veteran midfielder voiced the German side’s frustration at referee Szymon Marciniak for a controversial situation in the final minutes of the game, with Muller claiming Madrid had already been favored against Bayern in the 2017 quarterfinals with two Ronaldo goals that should’ve been ruled offside.
“Marciniak? He did not watch the video. He did not give himself the opportunity to look at it,” Muller said postgame. “It’s really strange, in such a situation, to whistle so fast. This often happens here in Madrid. I experienced this a few years ago, with two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo. But it was before the VAR.”
The play in question happened late in stoppage time, when Marciniak blew his whistle as the assistant raised his flag in a Bayern attack before letting VAR review Noussair Mazraoui’s position.
Referee Szymon Marciniak looks on with Matthijs de Ligt and Thomas Mueller of Bayern Munich during the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg match between Real Madrid and FC Bayern München at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on May 08, 2024 in Madrid, Spain.
The Bundesliga giants felt they were prevented from a legitimate chance to tie the series, and it reminded Muller of the April 18, 2017 night when Real Madrid advanced to the semis with two Ronaldo goals in an offside position. The difference is that there was no VAR by then, but Muller still left the Santiago Bernabeu with a similar feeling on Wednesday.
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Thomas Tuchel also calls out officiating in Real Madrid – Bayern
While it was Muller who brought up Ronaldo, he was not the only Bayern member to take aim at the officiating. In his post-match press conference, Thomas Tuchel also took a shot at Marciniak and company.
“To raise the flag in a situation like this where you can never, ever be sure that it is offside… to have the guts to raise the flag in a situation like this is a huge, huge call, and it’s the wrong call,” Tuchel said.
The assistant raised his flag as Mazraoui contested an aerial ball with Ferland Mendy, and instead of letting the play finish for the VAR review, Marciniak blew his whistle just before Matthijs de Ligt sent the ball home.
“The referee has the chance – when he sees that we win the second ball, and we win the rebound, and we get a shot away within five seconds – not to whistle. He takes the decision to whistle,” Tuchel added. “It’s against every rule. We accept that we lost, it is what it is. But…that would not have happened on the other side.”
