After their Champions League exit against Atlético Madrid, Barcelona's main gripe is with the referee. The injured Raphinha even suspects cheating. Meanwhile, Hansi Flick proves to be a good loser.
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- Barça star Raphinha rails against referee Turpin after the game and suspects a conspiracy. Atlético goalie Musso contradicts him.
- Frenkie de Jong is still talking about decisions from the first leg.
- Coach Hansi Flick is disappointed, but now focuses on winning the Spanish championship.
The dream is over. Despite the 2:1 win at Atlético Madrid, Barcelona are eliminated from the Champions League in the quarter-finals. The 2-0 deficit from the first leg was too great.
After the game, the Catalans' main gripe was with referee Clement Turpin. Especially one who wasn't even on the pitch. The currently injured Barça star Raphinha raged after the final whistle and even sensed cheating.
"For me it was cheating. The game was stolen from us, the refereeing was very poor. The decisions that were made are unbelievable. The referee didn't show Atlético a single yellow card for all the fouls. I really want to understand their fear of Barcelona winning," he was quoted as saying by Mundo Deportivo.
His words could now have legal repercussions for Raphinha. The attacker's comments violated Article 11 of UEFA's disciplinary rules, and former Barcelona star Neymar knows all about them. Raphinha's compatriot was banned for three matches in 2019 after he harshly criticized the referee's performance on Instagram after the match between his then-employers Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United. The International Court of Arbitration for Sport Cas later reduced the ban to two matches. Raphinha could therefore also miss the start of the upcoming Champions League.
De Jong's first-leg frustration
When the strong Atlético goalkeeper Juan Musso was confronted with Raphinha's statements, he showed a lack of understanding. "You can't talk about stealing. I understand what Raphinha may say, what everyone may say. But we won it on the pitch. We won 2-0 away from home and the last man in football means a red card ... I think to talk about stealing is crazy."
Meanwhile, Frenkie de Jong is still struggling with the first leg, when an alleged handball by Atlético after a goal kick was overlooked. "There were a lot of strange refereeing decisions in the first leg. Pubill's handball changed everything completely. We have the feeling that we were better in both games. We even dominated them with ten men. But luck wasn't on our side."
Disappointed Flick
Coach Hansi Flick was a far better loser. "Of course we're all disappointed. It's a big dream for everyone to win the Champions League. We have to learn from these things and will improve," he said at the post-match press conference. The German's big goal now is to win the Spanish championship.
On the refereeing issue, he simply said: "I don't want to talk about it because I can't do anything about it. It's good for you if I talk about it, but I don't want to do it."
