European heavyweights Bayern Munich suffered a shock exit from the Champions League after they were defeated by Villarreal (1-2 agg) across the two legs of the quarter-finals. In the wake of that, head coach Julian Nagelsmann received multiple death threats from fans on social media.
The 34-year-old said he received nearly 450 death threats on Instagram following Bayern’s elimination at the hands of the LaLiga side. The German also went on to add that his family, including his mother, also received abuse on social media platforms.
Speaking to the media, Nagelsmann shed light on his plight and also added that he is used to getting death threats every game, whether Bayern win or lose. However, lines were crossed when fans also started messaging and sending death threats to his family members.
“I can handle criticism well. The situation is different with the 450 death threats on Instagram.
“It’s clear that a lot of people want to kill me, but now they’re also shooting at my own mother, who has nothing to do with football and the elimination. That’s a bit wild then, but if I look at all of this, then I won’t be able to finish.
“How do I deal with it? I don’t give a sh*t. People should write what they want, but think a little more about it. I can not understand,”
he was quoted as saying by BBC.
The reigning Bundesliga champions lost the first leg of the tie against Villarreal 1-0. Arnaut Danjuma scored for the Yellow Submarine at the El Madrigal Stadium. While everyone thought it was only a small blip in the radar for the Bavarian giants and that they would run riot as usual in Munich, that didn’t exactly prove to be the case.
Although Bayern restored parity in the contest through Robert Lewandowski’s strike in the second half, they failed to get a breakthrough. In fact, Samuel Chukwueze scored two minutes before the end of regulated time to sink the hopes of Bayern fans and script history for Villarreal, who have reached the Champions League semifinals for the first time in 16 years.
