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Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel has said he is unhappy after images circulated of his players partying after the 2-1 Champions League round of 16 first leg loss at Borussia Dortmund circulated on social media.
Several PSG players shared footage of themselves celebrating Edinson Cavani, Angel Di Maria and Mauro Icardi‘s birthdays earlier this week.
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“I was really surprised by the video on Friday — really surprised,” Tuchel told a prematch news conference ahead of the Ligue 1 clash with Bordeaux.
“We have spoken about it internally. I prefer not to talk about it — that will stay private, between us. “However, yes, it has been discussed. It must stay internal, though. We are unhappy with these party images.”
Marquinhos, who was in attendance, said that the sharing of the images was an error of judgement and understood why it could be interpreted as disrespectful by supporters who travelled to Westfalenstadion to see the team underperform on Tuesday.
“We were filmed, there was no malicious intent, and the images were shared,” the Brazil international said. “It was a mistake, which we all agree, and we are aware of it.
“We must take care as there are people who live for this club, travel for miles to support us, and then are sad when we lose.
“It was a moment to try to forget a bit about football, to spend some time together, and to take our minds off of the match.”
Tuchel was defended the decision to keep Neymar out of action until the Dortmund clash after he picked up a rib problem against Montpellier at the start of February.
Neymar had said it was PSG’s decision to delay his return with the Champions League clash in mind.
“Imagine if we had let Neymar play and then he got injured for three months,” said Tuchel. “We cannot wait for it to happen and then say that it was our fault. We have to understand why we make these decisions.”