The Catalan club has taken a route familiar to Real Madrid as both sides gear up for a season decider at Montjuic
Barcelona have expressed frustration over controversial refereeing decisions that marred their dramatic Champions League exit to Inter Milan. But the timing couldn’t be more combustible, with the Catalan club preparing to face Real Madrid in a season-defining clásico.
Barcelona’s narrow 4-3 defeat at San Siro – which saw Inter edge them out 7-6 on aggregate – has a claim to being the greatest Champions League game of all time. But after the match, the Spanish club shifted some of the attention to Polish referee Szymon Marciniak, with his performance drawing fierce criticism from Hansi Flick and his players.
“We think that the result is unfair because of some refereeing decisions, I have to say it,” Flick declared in the post-match press conference.
His words were echoed by his squad, with midfield maestro Pedri calling on UEFA to investigate Marciniak’s decisions.
“UEFA should look into it,” said Pedri, speaking to El Partidazo de Cope.
Local Spanish publication Sport also called out Marciniak after the game, saying that he is a “Madridista”.
Perhaps the key contentious moment in the first half was when Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsi appeared to cleanly dispossess Lautaro Martinez in the area. Marciniak initially waved play on, but VAR intervened and the referee awarded a penalty.
Later, Barcelona were awarded a penalty of their own when Henrikh Mkhitaryan hauled down Lamine Yamal in full flight. But once again, VAR intervened and after consulting the pitchside monitor, the referee concluded that the foul began outside the area. It did begin outside the area, but the contention was whether it continued into the box.
Barcelona’s frustration with the referee comes as they head into Sunday’s clash against their fiercest rivals at Montjuic. What was already shaping up to be a fiery clásico with the title at stake could just turn volatile.
The last time the two sides met – in the Copa del Rey final in Seville – there was a build-up involving serious accusations about unfair refereeing. Match official Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea was condemned by Real Madrid TV for bias, which led to the referee crying at a press conference while responding to the allegations.
During the match itself, the Madrid squad reacted furiously at de Burgos Bengoetxea in a stoppage time episode that saw three players dismissed and one of them Antonio Rudiger throwing projectiles at the referee. Rudiger was eventually handed a six-match ban for his transgressions.
With Barcelona kicking off further refereeing accusation just after a major game, it would be interesting to see whether those ghosts will linger ahead of the monumental fixture at Montjuic.
