Bayern Munich disallowed goal: Were Tuchel and Co stolen of spot in final - Here is what the VAR rules say

It was yet another dramatic Champions League evening at Real Madrid’s famous home Santiago Bernabéu as the hosts booked their place in the final for a record 18th time in the competition’s history Wednesday (May 8).

An evening highlighted by a stoppage winner from Joselu for Real Madrid could have had more drama, had referee Szymon Marciniak allowed Bayern Munich’s goal in the 103rd minute to stand. The goal was not allowed to stand while the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), despite being on offer, was not used.

Why was VAR not used and what does the rule say?

With Bayern trailing 1-2 going deep into stoppage time, a long ball from the half line was picked by veteran Thomas Muller which was then passed to Matthijs de Ligt. Without wasting any time, De Ligt fired his effort past the Real goalkeeper Andriy Lunin. However, referee Marciniak blew his whistle for an offside flag which was raised by an assistant making the next phase of play void.

Since the whistle had blown when Muller received the ball, De Ligt’s phase of play which consisted of the goal was ruled out.

According to rule books, VAR can only intervene in case of an offside if the entire phase is allowed to be played and results in a goal. But since the whistle had already gone before the goal had been scored, the VAR was unable to intervene.

Matthijs de Ligt claims referee apologised to him for 'mistake' that cost Bayern place in UCL final

When can VAR come into play?

Had referee Marciniak not blown his whistle and allowed the play to continue which resulted in the goal, the VAR would have been called in to check whether anyone was offside in the build-up.

Considering the whistle had been blown, Real goalkeeper Lunin hardly made any attempt to save the