Daijiworld Media Network - Madrid
Madrid, Apr 15: Barcelona forward Raphinha has strongly criticised the refereeing standards following his team’s elimination from the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals at the hands of Atletico Madrid.
Barcelona’s 2–1 victory in the second leg was not enough to overturn a 2–0 first-leg deficit, as they were eliminated 3–2 on aggregate by their Spanish rivals.
In a fiery post-match reaction, Raphinha described the officiating across both legs as unacceptable. “For me, this match was a robbery. Not just this match but the other one as well. The refereeing was really bad, the decisions are unbelievable,” he said, referring to referee Clement Turpin, as quoted by the BBC.
He further questioned the lack of disciplinary action against Atletico players, claiming repeated fouls went unpunished. “I don’t know how many fouls Atletico made, but the referee didn’t give them a single yellow card,” he added.
Raphinha, who missed both legs due to injury, also suggested a pattern of contentious decisions across the tie. He argued that Barcelona were forced to “work three times as hard” and described the outcome as misleading, while acknowledging that referees can make mistakes but insisting that repeated errors were concerning.
The tie saw Barcelona reduced to 10 men in both matches following VAR interventions. In the first leg, defender Pau Cubarsi was sent off by referee Istvan Kovacs, while in the second leg Eric Garcia was shown a red card after a VAR review upgraded his booking for denying a goal-scoring opportunity.
Barcelona also raised concerns about a first-leg incident involving Atletico defender Marc Pubill, where they believed a handball inside the penalty area was overlooked by officials and VAR.
The club later submitted a formal complaint to UEFA over what they described as inadequate VAR intervention. However, European football’s governing body rejected the complaint, deeming it inadmissible.
With the defeat, Barcelona’s long wait for a Champions League title continues beyond 11 years, while Atletico Madrid advance to the semi-finals, still chasing their first European crown despite previously reaching the final on three occasions.