UEFA has hit back at comments made by Borussia Dortmund's players and coaching staff, insisting that Wednesday's rearranged Champions League tie with AS Monaco was given the green light to go ahead by all parties.
The original quarter-final first-leg clash at the Westfalenstadion on Tuesday night was postponed due to a security breach, as BVB's team bus was caught up in an expected terrorist attack.
Three explosions went off and one player injured, with Marc Bartra requiring surgery on a fractured wrist due to the severity of the blast.
Monaco came out on top 3-2 winners in the hastily rescheduled fixture, which took place less than 24 hours after the blasts, leading to questions being asked of UEFA's decision to shoehorn the match in this week.
Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel was particularly upset, telling reporters: "We wished we would have wished for more time to deal with what happened but someone in Switzerland decided we have to play."
UEFA has now responded to the criticism, however, with a spokesman saying: "The decision to play the UEFA Champions League match between Borussia Dortmund and AS Monaco FC on Wednesday at 6.45pm CET was made on Tuesday night at the BvB Stadion Dortmund in cooperation and complete agreement with clubs and authorities.
"UEFA was in touch with all parties on Wednesday and never received any information which suggested that any of the teams did not want to play."
The two sides face off again next week in the return leg at Monaco's Stade Louis II.
Daniel Lewis
