Matthijs de Ligt revealed that the linesman apologized to him when the Dutch defender’s goal against Real Madrid was disallowed, causing Bayern Munich to lose their ticket to the Champions League final.

Bayern Munich unfairly lost a goal in the last seconds?

In the final seconds of the second leg Champions League semi-final match between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, defender Matthijs de Ligt broke free to score against the white-clad team. If that situation had resulted in a goal, the match would have been tied 2-2, but referee Szymon Marciniak blew the whistle to end the game at that moment.

The Polish “king of the black jersey” likely believed that the Bayern Munich player was offside, but slow-motion footage revealed this to be a controversial moment requiring VAR intervention. However, whether due to the non-use of VAR or decisions relying on assistant referees, Marciniak’s decision to blow the whistle before the play had concluded raised many questions.

For defender Matthijs de Ligt, he mentioned that the linesman admitted his mistake. “The linesman said to me, ‘I’m sorry, I made a mistake,’ when I approached him,” the Dutch player said. “The rules say that if the offside situation is not clear, you should continue playing.”

“And if you blow the whistle in the last minute like this, I think this is a big mistake. Whether it’s offside or not, I don’t know, VAR can check it, but if it’s not checked, how can you see? This is something shameful.”

In this match, VAR also had an impact in the 71st minute, disallowing Real Madrid’s goal as defender Nacho Fernández fouled Joshua Kimmich. Joselu equalized in the 88th minute after a mistake by goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. And it was this same player who scored in the first minute of injury time, also in a sensitive situation, but the linesman didn’t raise the flag at that moment.

Apart from Matthijs de Ligt, the coaching staff and other players of Bayern Munich also couldn’t contain their frustration. Coach Thomas Tuchel said: “We scored a goal and there was a mistake from the linesman and the referee. In the end, it feels like a betrayal. It goes against the regulations and is truly a disaster, a failure for the entire tournament.”

However, for Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, the referee team in this match fulfilled their responsibilities correctly. “It’s very simple to explain, the time was up, the referee blew the whistle and we stopped,” the Italian coach said. “Referee Szymon Marciniak is very good, someone who has officiated in the World Cup final. If Bayern Munich complains about the end-of-match situation, then we will also complain about the earlier disallowed goal, when Kimmich wasn’t actually fouled.”