Bayern exec Rummenigge: We feel 'cheated'

Bayern Munich chief executive and club legend Karl-Heinz Rummenigge admits the Bavarian giant feels "cheated" after being booted from the Champions League at the semi-finals stage for the third consecutive year.

Football can be a cruel game, where pivotal matches are decided by the narrowest of margins and contentious decisions loom large, something Rummenigge appears to focusing on a day after Atletico Madrid did enough to advance to the final in Milan.

Related: Atletico upsets Bayern Munich, books Champions League final berth

"We feel a little bit cheated," Rummenigge said after the game. "The Atletico goal was offside, the foul for the penalty (which Atletico missed) was outside of the box."

Antoine Griezmann's 53rd-minute goal against the run of play bested David Alaba and Javi Martinez's perilously high line by a hair, appearing offsides from one camera angle, onside on another. While that moment swung the tie, the controversial penalty decision that Fernando Torres fired at Manuel Neuer did not.

"The referee had two matches in the last seven days. I don't know whether those UEFA guys can have too many matches, too. The UEFA delegate told me, 'It's a shame what he did.'"

While two matches in seven days is hardly an atypical workload for a top-tier referee, Rummenigge's derision likely stems from the club's failure to advance beyond this stage in all three years of Pep Guardiola's tenure with the club. Spanish clubs have been Bayern's continental kryptonite, with the Atletico semi-finals defeat preceded by ones to Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Related: Pep Guardiola's Champions League semi-final curse

The scoreline favoured Guardiola's lot Tuesday at the Allianz courtesy of goals from Xabi Alonso and Robert Lewandowski, though over the two legs it was Atletico who benefited for the away-goal tiebreaker, advancing to its second final in three years 2-2 on aggregate. Such is the nature of football.

Diego Simeone's lot now look forward to a May 28 final and potential rematch with hated rival Real Madrid, while Rummenigge and co. can look forward to a potential domestic double and the Carlo Ancelotti era.