Barcelona winger Raphinha did not take his team’s Champions League elimination lightly. After Atletico Madrid secured a 3-2 aggregate victory over the Catalan giants with a 2-1 win at the Metropolitano, Raphinha, who was sidelined with an injury, voiced his strong displeasure regarding the officiating.
According to quotes from MD, Raphinha stated, “It’s a stolen match. It was tough, especially when you see that you have to make triple the effort to win the game. Making a mistake is human, but for it to happen again in the second leg? We’ve played very well, but this tie has been stolen from us.”
The Barcelona squad felt that numerous fouls committed by Atletico were overlooked, while their own infractions were penalized. Raphinha highlighted the fact that Atletico Madrid players did not receive any yellow cards during the second leg, interpreting this as a sign of “fear” from the officials to allow Barcelona to advance.
“The refereeing has been terrible; it’s unbelievable the decisions he’s made. Atletico committed countless fouls, and the referee didn’t even show them a yellow card. I really want to understand his fear that Barca might get through to the next round,” Raphinha added.
Raphinha was not the only Barcelona player to express frustration. Midfielder Frenkie de Jong commented that the officiating in the first leg was particularly impactful.
“Luck has not been on our side. We tried everything, we played well in both matches. In the end it wasn’t enough, we want to improve, but we feel like luck wasn’t on our side,” De Jong was quoted as saying by Cadena SER.
He further elaborated, “In the first leg, the refereeing was decisive. The play that marked the match in the first leg was when Pubill stopped that action with his hand, which should have been a red card and a penalty. In the first match, the refereeing was decisive.”
De Jong also acknowledged the commendable performance of Barcelona’s young players, expressing optimism for the future. Meanwhile, Raphinha faces the possibility of a UEFA sanction for his post-match comments.
