Borussia Dortmund coach Tuchel: A few minutes after bomb attack, UEFA asked 'are you ready to play?
ByReuters
Updated 12/04/2017 at 20:46 GMT
Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel said his team felt ignored by the football authorities after being made to play AS Monaco in the Champions League on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after an attack on their bus.
Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel celebrates after Borussia Dortmund's Ousmane Dembele scored their first goal as Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim looks on
Image credit: Reuters
The quarter-final first leg at home to AS Monaco was postponed on Tuesday after three explosions went off near the Dortmund bus as it made its way to the stadium, injuring Spanish defender Marc Bartra.
The match was immediately rescheduled for Wednesday and Monaco ran out 3-2 winners in what turned out to be a pulsating encounter.
UEFA said it made the decision after consulting both teams, however Tuchel said he and his players were not asked.
"We were informed by text message that UEFA was making this decision," he said.
"A decision made in Switzerland that concerns us directly. We will not forget it, it is a very bad feeling.
A few minutes after this attack, the only question that was asked was, 'Are you ready to play?'. As if we had thrown a beer on our coach.
"At that time, we did not know the reasons for this attack. There is a feeling of helplessness. The date was imposed on us. What we think has not interested anyone. We weren't asked about playing the game.
"I just wanted more time, a few more days. In a few days, we will not have digested completely but time helps us to find a solution.
"It is important to have a chance to realise this dream and our team was not at the top in concentration to make a difference at this level.
"UEFA is eager to continue playing. Of course we have to keep it going, but we still want to be competitive. We do not want to use the situation as an excuse.
"We wished we would have had more time to deal with what happened, but someone in Switzerland decided we must play.
"Every player has the right to deal with it in his way. The team did not feel in the mood, in which you must be for such a game.
"We let the players choose if they wanted to play. But this morning, we found that the training had done good, that it had made us think of something else.
"We were attacked as men and we tried to solve the problem on the ground.
"Everyone has their own way of reacting to events. The players had the choice not to play but no one chose this option."
Speaking during a pre-match interview with Sky Deutschland, Tuchel said: "There are players who can easily deal with what's happened and others who worry more - very mixed feelings.
"It's not very fair. What happened yesterday happened to us as people. Every player has the right to start with a strange feeling.
"We've been left feeling a bit helpless by the decision. But professionals find solutions to problems. We are strong enough."
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