To classify Tuesday’s Champions League quarterfinal between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid as chippy would be an understatement. Things in Madrid got downright ugly due to controversial officiating, as well as fan and reportedly even player run-ins with Spanish police.
The game, in which Real Madrid ousted Bayern from the tournament with a 4-2 win at Santiago Bernabeu stadium, appeared to be a worst-case scenario of sorts for the German side. Bayern watched referee Viktor Kassai call what appeared to be two offside goals by Cristiano Ronaldo onside, after Kassai sent off one of the Bayern’s top stars over a questionable tackle in the 84th minute.
“This is a poor decision,” Guardian reporters live blogging the match on Tuesday. “[Arturo] Vidal clearly wins the ball as he slides in to win the ball off [Marco] Asensio, but Viktor Kassai sees differently and shows the Chilean, who missed a penalty in the first leg, a second yellow. Oh dear. Bayern will be livid when they see that back.”
Indeed, Bayern was livid. After the loss, Vidal accused the referee of committing a “robbery.”
“It is very tough when [the referees] steal a game from you like that — two goals offside and me wrongly sent off,” Vidal said (via ESPN FC). “When two big teams meet like this in the Champions League, such a robbery cannot happen.”
His teammates Thiago Alcantara and Robert Lewandowki echoed those claims, noting these types of “mistakes” and “errors” shouldn’t happen at the Champions League level.
The three were so angered over the events, according to Spanish reports, that they stormed into Kassai’s dressing room after the match to eviscerate him. Police reportedly had to be called into remove the players. Neither the team nor European soccer’s governing body UEFA, however, have not confirmed those reports.
The team did, meanwhile, file a formal complaint with UEFA over how police allegedly treated Bayern fans during the match when police wielding batons entered the stands at halftime.
“There were, in some instances, fierce attacks on Bayern fans by the Spanish police during the halftime break of the game between Bayern and Real Madrid,” the team said in a statement posted to its website after the match.
“Bayern feel the behavior of the Spanish police is utterly out of place and excessive, and have lodged a complaint with UEFA about the actions of the Spanish police,” the statement continued. “Bayern will demand an explanation, in due course, from the Spanish police.”
Bayern Munich complains of unfair officiating — and policing — in Champions League loss to Real Madrid – Washington Post