Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel upset with UEFA's handling of bus attack
Borussia Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel was unhappy with how UEFA handled the situation following an attack on the team bus on Tuesday.
Tuchel expressed his frustration to reporters over the governing body’s decision to reschedule his team’s Champions League tilt against Monaco for Wednesday. The teams played less than 24 hours after three explosions damaged the team bus and injured defender Marc Bartra while the team was en route to the stadium in Dortmund. A police officer riding on a motorcycle alongside the bus was also injured.
Dortmund lost 3–2 to Monaco in the first leg of their quarterfinal on Wednesday.
“We were never asked, we were informed by a text message that the UEFA made a decision in Switzerland. It felt lousy. And that sticks with us,” Tuchel said. “Minutes after the attacks the only question was whether the game could go through or not. We were treated as if a beer can was thrown at the bus. It gives you a feeling of impotence.
“It will stick with us that we have to function and that everything else plays no role. We are outside of the bus, Marc [Barta] gets driven away in an ambulance, and we are informed about the decision. It does not feel good.”
Tuchel said the club left it to the players whether or not to play.
“We would have wanted to have more time to digest all of this. We did not get this time. We have to live with the fact that the match was scheduled. It's about our dream, our big dream, and the squad did not have the feeling they could make the difference in the small situations.
Every one of us has to cope with the incident by himself. The thoughts will continue to circle around the events. Time helps. But ask me prior to the match next week if we are ready. There's no recipe for this.”
UEFA released the following statement in response.
German police have identified two suspects in Tuesday’s attack, one of which has been detained. Letters found near the scene claiming responsibility for the attack indicate a possible “Islamic extremist motive,” police said.
