Borussia Dortmund chief executive officer Hans-Joachim Watzke has accused referee Danny Makkelie of arrogance over his penalty call in the club's Champions League exit to Chelsea.
The Bundesliga side slipped out of Europe after failing to build on their 1-0 first-leg advantage at Stamford Bridge, with a 2-0 defeat on the night meaning a 2-1 aggregate loss to their Premier League hosts.
Chelsea's ultimate winner came from a Kai Havertz penalty, but only when Makkelie allowed the forward to retake it due to encroachment after he missed his first attempt.
Watzke however felt the Dutch referee was guilty of arrogant behaviour in his decision-making, and suggested he was too easily swayed from his gut decisions by a boisterous home atmosphere.
"You always had the bad feeling that he wanted to be the most important man on the pitch," he told SID.
"His gestures, his facial expressions, he really liked [to perform to the crowd].
"Instinct was a foreign word to him. We lost control of the game too early, and congratulations to Chelsea. They deserve to go through.
"But the decision to retake the penalty was very controversial and the original call itself was a 50-50 decision. There's no question about that at all."
Chelsea were originally awarded the penalty after VAR intervened over a handball offence from Dortmund defender Marius Wolf.
Havertz hit the right post with his first attempt, but Makkelie allowed him to retake it after replays showed players from both teams encroached into the box.
Watzke was far from the only Dortmund figure to express their discontent with the decision, with Jude Bellingham also voicing his frustration after the game.
Ronaldo delivers another hat-trick as Al Nassr ease past Al Wedha
Cristiano Ronaldo crafted a decisive hat-trick as Al Nassr hammered Al Wedha 6-0 in Saturday's Saudi Pro League meeting.
Portugal veteran Ronaldo found the net twice in the first 12 minutes at Al Awal Park before completing his treble after the interval.
Sadio Mane teed up Ronaldo's third finish, as well as an 18th-minute strike from Otavio, who returned the favour for the Senegal international to score on the stroke of half-time.
Mohammed Al Fatil added a late sixth as Al Nassr recorded their seventh straight league win since their March 7 loss against Al Raed, moving them back within nine points of leaders Al Hilal.
Jorge Jesus's Al Hilal swept Al Tauwoon aside in a 3-0 away triumph on Friday for their fourth straight victory across all competitions.
Talisman Aleksandar Mitrovic opened the scoring at King Abdullah Sport City Stadium before Saud Abdulhamid and Saleh Alsherhi wrapped up a win that kept Al Hilal in charge of the title race.
There was no such fortune for fifth-placed Al Ittihad as they fell to a third straight defeat in all competitions after a 3-1 loss away against Abha.
Jota levelled after Grzegorz Krychowiak's 57th-minute penalty, only for Hassan Al-Ali and Fabian Noguera to power hosts Abha to a comfortable win.
Terzic hopeful of Wembley send-off for Dortmund hero Reus
Borussia Dortmund's Marco Reus will leave the club after 12 years at the end of the season but a Champions League final at Wembley would see his career at the Ruhr valley club come full circle, said coach Edin Terzic said on Saturday.
Reus scored once and set up two more goals in their 5-1 win over Augsburg on Saturday as Dortmund prepare to face Paris Saint-Germain in their return leg in France on Tuesday after their 1-0 first leg win in Germany earlier this week.
The Germans, Champions League winners in 1997, are hoping to make their first final in the competition since 2013 when they lost to Bayern Munich at Wembley.
A return to that stadium for this year's final would be a fitting finale for Reus' Dortmund career, Terzic said.
"Yes, a cycle would close," Terzic said. "It was in his first season at Dortmund that he played at Wembley and it would be perfect to return there," Terzic told a press conference.
"He is a living legend. He has put all other stories in the shadow today.
"What I wish is that the Marco Reus festival lasts for another month and we experience a few more games together," Terzic said.
The 34-year-old, who joined in 2012 and also spent a decade at the Ruhr Valley club as a youth player, has scored 169 goals in 425 matches for Dortmund while setting up another 130.
Reus won two German Cups but did not collect any other major titles, agonisingly missing out on his first ever Bundesliga trophy last season on the final matchday.
Dortmund are in fifth place in the Bundesliga with two games remaining. They were at risk of missing out on Champions League football next season before their win over PSG sealed a fifth spot for Germany in next season's competition.
Borussia Dortmund 5-1 Augsburg: Departing Reus stars in perfect PSG dress rehearsal
Borussia Dortmund demolished Augsburg 5-1 in the Bundesliga on Saturday in a perfect dress rehearsal ahead of next week's Champions League semi-final return leg at Paris Saint-Germain.
Dortmund, who face PSG on Tuesday after their 1-0 first leg win in Germany earlier this week, enjoyed a whirlwind start with three goals in the first 29 minutes.
Youssoufa Moukoko struck either side of Doneyll Malen's 20th minute goal to quickly put the game to bed.
Augsburg cut the deficit in the 32nd minute with Ruben Vargas but the visitors restored their three-goal cushion through Marco Reus, who will leave the club after 12 years at the end of the season, in the 34th.
He then delivered his second assist of the game for Felix Nmecha to make it 5-1 in the 64th.
Reus, aged 34 years and 339 days, is the oldest player to be directly involved in three-or-more goals in a Bundesliga match since Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery against Wolfsburg in March 2019.
Dortmund, who have secured a Champions League spot for next season, are in fifth place on 60 points, three behind fourth-placed RB Leipzig.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
