Real Madrid’s anguish soon turned to fury after full-time in their absorbing defeat by Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.
Referee Slavko Vincic was harangued by players from the beaten Spanish giants – seemingly furious at him for controversially sending off Eduardo Camavinga with the tie finely-poised at 4-4 on aggregate.
Vincic was pursued aggressively by a group of Real players as he marched towards the tunnel having blown the final whistle.
Arda Guler, who scored two brilliant goals on the night, was particularly incensed and had to be restrained by staff as he yelled in the Slovenian official’s face.
Vincic then decided enough was enough and gave the Turkish talent a red card.
Antonio Rudiger and Vinicius Jr were also chief antagonists, with both seen leading the pursuit and lambasting Vincic.
The angry protests continued into the tunnel in chaotic scenes, with the beaten 15-time winners losing control of their emotions.
Earlier, Camavinga had come off the bench in the 62nd minute but received a second yellow by the 86th for foolishly preventing Bayern taking a quick free-kick.
It was a mindless act and the 10-man side were punished soon after, with Luis Diaz scoring before Michael Olise added a spectacular final goal in a 6-4 aggregate win, 4-3 on the night.
That decision, described by Marca as ‘an injustice’ in the immediate aftermath, was the major source of anger.
Beaten Real boss Alvaro Arbeloa accused the referee of ‘ruining the game’.
He told Spanish press: ‘Obviously, you can’t send off a player for something like that. The referee didn’t even know he had a card and he ruined a very exciting, very evenly matched tie, a real battle, and that’s how the game ended.
When asked how Camavinga was, he added: ‘Like everyone else.’
Arbeloa then added on TNT Sport: ‘I think with the red card, everything was over. It is really unbelievable that you send off a player for this action, it’s not possible in a match like that to be sent off for this.
‘We feel really, really upset, angry and disappointed and I think all of this is a little bit unfair.’
Marca were scathing about not just the refereeing decision but also Camavinga giving him the chance to send him off.
A journalist for the Madrid publication wrote: ‘Outrageous decision by referee Vincic, based on a stupid mistake by Camavinga, which could jeopardize his future at Real Madrid.
‘It ruined a well-worked match that ended with two goals conceded in eight minutes.’
The unpleasant ending cast an unfortunate shadow over what was a brilliant Champions League quarter-final across the two legs.
Bayern’s one goal advantage from their 2-1 win at the Bernabeu was wiped out within a minute when Guler superbly capitalised on Manuel Neuer’s errant pass to curl home.
Aleksandar Pavlović then powerfully headed in a corner just minutes later before Guler scored again, this time with a magnificent curling free-kick.
Harry Kane then fired Bayern back on terms before Kylian Mbappe levelled the aggregate scores to tee up a thrilling finish.
Momentum continued to swing in both directions but Camavinga’s red card proved to be the decisive moment having already picked up his first yellow for a cynical foul on Jamal Musiala.
His petty second yellow, while arguably harsh given the game state, was entirely avoidable but did not stop the Real players and management venting their fury after full-time.
