Antonio Rudiger hilariously thanked the VAR monitor on his triumphant trek off the Santiago Bernabeu pitch on Wednesday night, fresh footage has shown.
Real Madrid had just beaten Bayern Munich 2-1 (4-3 agg) to reach the Champions League final and VAR was vital in their breathtaking victory.
Joselu had initially been ruled offside after prodding home the winning goal in the 91st minute, but a video assistant referee decision ruled him onside.
Cue pandemonium in a delirious Bernabeu, where fans had already witnessed Joselu equalise just three minutes before.
Alphonso Davies had given Bayern a shock 1-0 lead but Madrid’s inspired turnaround means they will face Borussia Dortmund – Jude Bellingham’s old club – in the final.
Video footage shows Rudiger leaning into the pitchside VAR monitor and patting it as he exited the stage.
Because the camera pans late, it is unclear if the defender went for a mere embrace or if his passions extended to a smooch.
He was clearly struggling to restrain his excitement as he shouted ‘Vamos’ towards the fans and again to himself as he trooped down the tunnel.
When Joselu’s second strike was initially ruled offisde, footage showed TNT Rio Ferdinand informing Rudiger of the bad news as he exulted in the stands.
Ferdinand revealed that he had planned a celebration with Rudiger, which he unfortunately wasn’t able to show off.
He told TNT Sports: ‘As he was coming to me, I was thinking: “Right, we’ve got a celebration planned here, me and Rudiger.”
‘But I saw the flag go up in the corner of my eye and I said: “Get back on the pitch, get back on the pitch.”
‘Unfortunately we weren’t able to show our celebration we had planned over the last couple of days. Maybe get there another time.’
There was further VAR controversy to come, with Bayern Munich’s Matthijs De Ligt controversially having a late equaliser ruled out after Noussair Mazraoui was deemed to be offside.
Los Blancos will get their shot at a record-extending 15th Champions League title at Wembley on June 1.
Rudiger is aiming for his second crown, having won Europe’s premium competition with Chelsea in 2021 under Thomas Tuchel, who he knocked out on Wednesday.
