Dortmund decries UEFA's timing

Club slams quick rescheduling in wake of Tuesday's bomb attacks

General view of Borussia Dortmund fans before the Champions League quarter final first leg match between Dortmund and AS Monaco on April 12, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

DORTMUND, Germany－Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel accused UEFA of treating Tuesday's bomb attack on its team bus "as if a beer can had been thrown", and claimed the club was informed by text message of the rescheduling of its Champions League game against Monaco.

The German side lost 3-2 to the French club in the first leg of their quarterfinal on Wednesday, 24 hours after the match was postponed.

Tuchel was furious at the way the incident was handled by UEFA.

On Tuesday, three explosions rocked Dortmund's 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'," said Tuchel.

"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 in the city as German investigators detained an Islamist suspect following the roadside blast.

"We would have liked to have had more time to work through it," said Tuchel.

"There are players who easily brushed it off, but there are also players who really took it to heart. They are more thoughtful."

UEFA, however, insisted both clubs agreed to play on Wednesday at the earlier 6:45 pm (local time) kickoff.

"We were in touch with all parties today and never received any information which suggested that any of the teams did not want to play," said a UEFA spokesman.

Teenager Kylian Mbappe struck twice for Monaco at Signal Iduna Park. After Fabinho skewed an early Monaco penalty wide, Mbappe opened the scoring in the 19th minute.

Sven Bender, filling in for Bartra in defense, then headed into his own net to make it 0-2.

Ousmane Dembele pulled one back for Dortmund in the 57th minute, but Mbappe fired in his second to leave Monaco a favorite to reach the last four despite Shinji Kagawa's late strike.

Dortmund stars Nuri Sahin and Julian Weigl lauded their teammates' courage.

"We knew that it would not be easy to focus. Until kickoff, everything was still in my head, but not football," said Turkish midfielder Sahin.

"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.

"I know that football is very important, that it is about a lot, and I knew we have to try to deliver here. We also know that we had to compete here.

"But one shouldn't forget that we are human beings. That was not nice today (Wednesday)."

Germany midfielder Weigl said: "Most of the guys probably slept as little as I did. There is no golden way to deal with this because it was the first time for everyone."

Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim stressed the tie was far from over while acknowledging the match would largely be remembered for the incidents that occurred in the build-up.

"What will stay in history is not the result but what happened last night. It was difficult to prepare for this match.

"Last night, the players called their families and friends and their concentration was low. But on the pitch, both sides gave great performances," said the Portuguese.

"It's very significant to come and win here. But we're only halfway there."

AFP