Los Blancos blast ref after UCL exit: "Injustice! Joke! He ruined a beautiful tie!"

For the first time since 2012, Real Madrid have been eliminated by Bayern Munich in the Champions League knockout phase. In the past 14 years, the two European giants have met four times, and Los Blancos have emerged victorious on each occasion.

Last night, the fifth luck was the charm for the Bavarians.

In a blockbuster clash and one of the best UCL games in UCL history, the German side beat Madrid 4-3, despite being down three times.

Neuer's madness, Diaz's winner and Camavinga's controversial red card in Bayern's win

The visitors had at least the extra time in their bag until the 89th minute, but eventually conceded twice in the dying minutes and were knocked out.

And immediately after the defeat, Los Blancos found the culprit for the failure. It's - some would say as usual - the referee Slavko Vincic.

None of Bayern's four goals wasn't the subject of the dispute, but the situation before the Bavarians' turnaround was.

Namely, in the span of just eight minutes, the Slovenian referee booked Eduardo Camavinga twice and sent him off just three minutes before Luis Diaz's late leveller, which pushed the Munich side towards the semi-finals.

What enraged Madrid was the reason behind the Frenchman's second yellow card, as he received it for delaying the game and refusing to let the rivals take a free kick quickly. Camavinga grabbed the ball, carried it a bit, and then dropped it. Still, according to Vincic, it was too late.

Although the midfielder's dismissal didn't directly lead to Bayern's decisive goals, the visitors crowded the ref once he blew the full-time whistle, Arda Guler was sent off for dissent, while Dani Carvajal was spotted pointing towards Vincic and shouting, "It's your fault! It's your f*****g fault!"

While walking through the press area following the match, Eder Militao just uttered "Injustice", while Jude Bellingham said only "A joke".

However, their manager, Alvaro Arbeloa, was much more talkative in the press conference.

"The players are very hurt. Especially because of how we lost. I congratulate Bayern on their great tie, but we would have liked them to beat us differently."

"It was an inexplicable expulsion which nobody understands, hence the feeling of injustice and anger. All the work and effort has been thrown over the edge by a decision like the one made by the referee."

"Nobody understands that a player is sent off for an action like that. At that point the tie is over. It is an unfair action and we are very hurt. It’s something you can’t control," Madrid boss started his remarks via Yahoo Sports.

Still, it wasn't the end of his tirade, as he went on to say that the home team's players had influenced the Slovenian's decision.

"I think he got the card precisely because of that, because the Bayern players had to go and remind him that it was the second one. But that is not a yellow card. I don’t know, or he hasn’t played football… or I don’t know."

"I think it’s even worse that he doesn’t know he had a yellow card, because it’s a double mistake. He ruined a beautiful tie," Arbeloa finished his emotional speech.

Either way, Madrid are out of the UCL, which was supposed to be their lifeline after a defeat in the Spanish Super Cup final and an early exit from the Copa del Rey. A nine-point deficit in the La Liga will be hard to overcome, so the conclusion is very simple:

Huge expectations, huge letdown.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - QUARTER FINALS

Return leg

Tuesday

Atl. Madrid - Barcelona 1-2 (1-2)

/Lookman 31 - Yamal 4, Torres 24/

Atletico win 3-2 on aggregate

Liverpool - PSG 0-2 (0-0)

/Dembele 72, 90+1/

PSG win 4-0 on aggregate

Wednesday

Arsenal - Sporting Lisbon 0-0

Arsenal win 1-0 on aggregate

Bayern Munich - Real Madrid 4-3 (2-3)

/Pavlovic 6, Kane 38, Diaz 89, Olise 90+4 - Guler 1, 29, Mbappe 42/

Bayern Munich win 6-4 on aggregate