The scenes are sorted for the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League final. Borussia Dortmund is set to face Real Madrid after the Spanish side knocked Bayern Munich in the semi-final. But the talking point of the match remains a controversial decision by the referee to disallow a last-minute goal from Thomas Tuchel and Co. As the dust settles, Bavarian star Thomas Muller has weighed in on the ‘weird‘ situation, drawing a parallel to an experience he had years ago while facing Cristiano Ronaldo in Madrid.

Following the match, Muller expressed his frustration regarding the official’s call. Speaking to RMC Sport 1, the German international said, “He [the referee] didn’t watch the video. He didn’t give himself the opportunity to watch it. It’s really weird, in such a situation, to whistle so quickly. It happens often here in Madrid. I experienced that a few years ago, with two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo.”

Muller recalls the 2017 Champions League quarter-final between Madrid and Bayern, where CR7 played a crucial role in leading Los Blancos to qualify for the next stage of the competition. Ronaldo added a hattrick in the 4-2 scoreline of the first leg, out of which two of his strikes were scored from an offside position. Yet, the goal stood again in the second leg, the Portuguese superstar netted a brace to help his side win 1-2. 

Notably, this year, the incident occurred when Matthijs De Ligt received a forward pass while in an offside position. Although he didn’t touch the ball, Mazraoui did and was flagged offside, resulting in a free-kick seconds before De Ligt’s finish. Interestingly, Muller might be right to some extent as it was revealed later that the linesman himself accepted his mistake last night!

Matthijs de Ligt proves Thomas Muller’s Cristiano Ronaldo dig with a huge revelation

During the post-match interview with beIN SPORTS, Matthijs de Ligt revealed the conversation he had with the linesman who raised the flag against him to deny his potential equalizer that would have taken the game to extra time. The former Ajax defender said, “If it’s not a clear offside, we have to continue playing. Whistling like that in the last minutes is a huge mistake. We have to check. (…) The linesman tells me said, ‘I’m sorry, I made a mistake.'” 

De Ligt also questioned the official’s call that during Joselu’s second goal, it appeared to be almost offside, the play continued, resulting in a goal. While a video review check was done for Madrid, confirming it was a goal, the same was not done for Munich. Unfortunately, video replays made it challenging to determine if Mazraoui was offside, but when the linesman raised the flag, the referee halted the game and prevented VAR from reviewing the decision. 

Either way, it’s quite unlucky for Bayern to face an exit alongside a controversial call. But what are your thoughts on Thomas Muller’s take on Cristiano Ronaldo’s call years ago? Let us know in the comments.