Matthijs de Ligt Says Referee Apologized Over Decision In Real Madrid Vs Bayern Clash

Bayern Munich defender, Matthijs de Ligt has claimed that the linesman who raised the flag against Bayern’s goal against Real Madrid has apologized for the mistake.

Matthijs de Ligt and other Bayern Munich players were left helpless when what would have been a dramatic late equaliser against Real Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday, May 8, was cancelled.

The lineman thought De Ligt of Bayern Munich was offside when the German side made it 2-2 in injury time. Since the flag was up before the goal was scored, the Video Assistant Referee nor the centre referee could intervene.

This sparked a series of protests from the Bayern Munich bench but that didn’t change anything as the decision stood.

“If it’s offside, it’s offside. But I think we made rules in football and the rules say if it isn’t clear offside, which it wasn’t because I haven’t seen it yet, of course, I don’t know”, Matthijs de Ligt said after the game.

“You have to keep playing. If you go in at the last minute and you whistle like this, yeah, I think it’s a big mistake….. This is a shame.”

He added, “The linesman said to me, ‘I am sorry, I made a mistake.’ In the end, you know, I am not the type of person to blame the rules or the referee.”

Before the controversial moment, Bayern Munich had taken the lead in the 68th minute through the boots of Alphonso Davies, Real Madrid came back into the game and took the lead in the 88th and 91st minutes through the boots of substitute Joselu.

Since the late equalizer from Bayern was cancelled, Real Madrid made it to the final of the Champions League, 4-3 on aggregate.