Marotta fumes at officials after Juventus crash out of Champions League

Juventus director Giuseppe Marotta hit out at the performance of referee Jonas Eriksson and his assistants after his side’s Champions League defeat at Bayern Munich.

Last season’s runners-up Juve had led 2-0 in Germany after a 2-2 draw in the last-16 first leg, but were eventually pegged back before being beaten 4-2 after extra time, meaning they crashed out the tournament 6-4 on aggregate.

Marotta hailed Juve’s efforts in a thrilling tie, but was unhappy with key decisions that he believes were decisive in his side’s defeat.

Alvaro Morata had a strike wrongly ruled out for offside when the second leg was at 1-0, while Marotta felt the fourth Bayern goal, scored by Kingsley Coman – on loan from Juve – could have been disallowed. 

“The offside call on Alvaro Morata’s goal could have changed the game,” he told Mediaset Premium.

“Football is all about moments and decisions such as these have a deep impact on the result of matches. At this level, they are costly.

“There was also a possible red card for [Joshua] Kimmich. When I first saw the images I felt that I’ve seen sendings-off for much less.

“Even on the fourth goal there is the possible question of a foul in the build-up to it and with the score at 3-2, we still had a chance to go through.

“To lose because of these decisions with that kind of refereeing, it is painful. I don’t wish to comment further on the issue but I’m simply hoping that Italian teams are better protected.

“I would like to emphasise the team’s great performance and work of the coach. We must also remember the quality of Bayern.

“We almost achieved something remarkable, it’s a shame because it was a minute and a half from the end.”