Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel accused UEFA of treating the bomb attack on his team’s bus as if a “beer can” had been thrown and claimed they were informed by text message that they would have to play their UEFA Champions League game against AS Monaco.
The German side were defeated 3-2 by the French club in the first leg of their quarter-final on Wednesday, 24 hours after the scheduled game had been postponed.
Teenager Kylian Mbappe struck twice as Monaco claimed victory at Signal Iduna Park, but Tuchel was furious at the way the incident was handled by UEFA.
Photo: Reuters
The fixture was postponed from Tuesday after three explosions rocked the Dortmund team bus and left Spain international Marc Bartra with a broken wrist.
“We felt completely passed over, it came down to ‘tomorrow, you’re playing,’” Tuchel said. “We were told by text message. They treated it as if a beer can had been thrown at the bus. Ultimately, it was decided in Nyon in Switzerland whether or not to play the next day. It was a somewhat powerless feeling. Each player had the right to start with a somewhat queasy feeling.”
Police ramped up security, with German prosecutors saying was there no evidence so far that a Muslim man detained was involved in the blasts.
“We would have liked to have had more time to work through it,” Tuchel added. “There are players who easily brushed it off, but there are also players who really took it to heart. They are more thoughtful.”
Dortmund fell behind on 19 minutes — although only after Fabinho missed a penalty.
Mbappe bundled in the opening goal, before Sven Bender, filling in for Bartra in defense, headed into his own net.
Ousmane Dembele pulled one back for Dortmund on 57 minutes, but Mbappe fired in his second of the game to leave Monaco as favorites to reach the last four, despite Shinji Kagawa’s late strike.
Dortmund star Nuri Sahin lauded the courage of his teammates.
“We knew that it would not be easy to focus on football. Until kickoff, everything was all still in my head, but not football,” Turkey international Sahin said. “It was only when I came home yesterday, and my wife and my son were standing at the door that I realized how lucky we were.”
Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim said the tie was far from over, while acknowledging the match would largely be remembered for the incidents that occurred in the buildup.
“What will stay in history is not the result, but what happened last night,” Jardim said. “It’s very significant to come and win here, but we’re only halfway there. There’s still a match to play. We haven’t won anything yet.”
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