Bayern Munich boss Carlo Ancelotti blasted the referees for their performance in the controversial semi-final on Tuesday at the Santiago Bernabeau, which finished 4-2 in Real Madrid’s favour.
Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai sent off Bayern midfielder Arturo Vidal with a second yellow. Replays showed that the Chilean had made minimal contact with his tackle.
With everything to play for in the tie, the linesman failed to disallow Cristiano Ronaldo’s second goal despite the Real Madrid forward being a yard offside.
“We had thought of everything going into this game – except the referee,” Ancelotti said. “You can’t decide a semi-final spot like this. It shouldn’t happen at this level,” he added.
The Italian suggested that Kassai was ill-prepared to handle the high-pressure contest, that knocked the Germans out of the contest, “The referee probably wasn’t up to the task,” the former Real Madrid manager said.
The 57-year-old also pressed for video technology to be used in Champions League matches. The English Premier League and the German Bundesliga have already implemented it their respective leagues,
“I don’t think Real Madrid have any influence on referees. The officials simply got it wrong. I had never been in favour of video technology, but I must admit it’s necessary now,” Ancelotti said.
Vidal also lashed out after the game, calling the referees’ performance a “robbery”, “When Madrid got scared, the referee began his show,” said Vidal. “This robbery can’t happen in the Champions League. We felt it a lot and you start to wonder a bit,” the midfielder said.
“When [referees] embarrass you like that, it’s really hard to take. It makes you very angry,” Vidal said.