Manchester United could face Thomas Tuchel blow as UEFA decision expected ‘next week’

Manchester United could face the possibility of their manager being banned in European fixtures, should they appoint Thomas Tuchel in the summer.

The current Bayern Munich and former Chelsea boss is currently the favourite to take over from Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford amid growing uncertainty over the Dutchman’s future at the club. Speculation grew following United’s disappointing 4-0 away loss against Crystal Palace on Monday night.

The Manchester Evening News understands that United are operating under the working assumption Ten Hag will remain in charge next season although Sir Jim Ratcliffe is "not completely sold" on the Dutchman. Tuchel led his Bayern side in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid on Wednesday night. His team fell to a late 2-1 defeat, meaning that they will finish without a trophy for the first time since 2012.

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But it was his post-match reaction to a controversial moment in the game that could land him in hot water with UEFA. Even after Joselu’s late winner for Real Madrid, Bayern did have the ball in the back of the net, but it was ruled out for offside.

The assistant referee had raised his flag when the ball was put into the Madrid box with referee Szymon Marciniak blowing his whistle to stop the game before Matthijs de Ligt scored. Replays showed that the offside call was tight, but the fact that the whistle had been blown meant that VAR couldn’t intervene and overturn the decision.

That prompted an angry response from Tuchel in his post-match press conference. "It's against every rule of modern football,” he said.

"He did it against Alfonso Davies as well, when he could never be sure. To have the balls, the guts, to raise the flag was a huge call and the wrong call.

"Then the referee had the chance not to whistle but took the decision to whistle. That would not have happened on the other side."

UEFA could now potentially step in and charge Tuchel with accusing the officials of being bias. The Sun reports that a decision is expected by the start of next week, but adds that the Bayern boss could have a reprise due to the two officials admitting their error after the game.

If he were to be charged, then he could potentially face a touchline ban from a UEFA game at the start of next season. Should he be appointed as United manager and the club qualify for Europe at the end of this campaign, then he could be in the stands for some of the qualifiers or the group-stage games.

United currently sit in eighth place in the Premier League table, which would see them miss out on Europe. However, a seventh-place finish or above, or a win in the FA Cup final against Man City next month would see them compete in Europe in the 2024/25 season.