Barcelona president Joan Laporta has vowed to file a new complaint to UEFA about their referees, describing them as ‘intolerable’ after his side’s Champions League exit.
The Catalan giants were knocked out in the quarter-final by La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid, losing 3-2 on aggregate after a mouth-watering second leg clash at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.
Barcelona secured a 2-1 victory on the night, but it wasn’t enough to turn the tie on its head following their 2-0 defeat in the first leg at Spotify Camp Nou.
Lamine Yamal got the La Liga champions-elect underway with a goal in the fourth minute.
The possibility of pulling off a stunning ‘remontada’ was strengthened by Ferran Torres, who brought Barcelona level on aggregate just 20 minutes later.
However, Ademola Lookman restored Atletico’s aggregate lead just after the half-hour mark.
Torres was denied a brace by a VAR review just before the hour mark, then things went from bad to worse for Barcelona when Eric Garcia was sent off for a professional last-man foul.
Barcelona held on to secure a win but ultimately bowed out of the Champions League, leaving the club and its president fuming at the match officials.
Laporta had already filed a complaint after the 2-0 first-leg defeat, where Barcelona also had a player sent off. UEFA have not replied.
Speaking at an event in Barcelona, Laporta made it clear that he’ll be launching a new complaint to UEFA after blaming the referees for his side’s Champions League exit.
“First of all, I want to congratulate Atletico Madrid,” he said (via O Jogo).
“But that doesn’t change the fact that yesterday’s refereeing, both by the referee and the VAR, was a disgrace. What they did to us is intolerable.
“In the first leg, they didn’t award us a clear penalty and sent off a player [Pau Cubarsi] with a red card when it was only a yellow, because Giuliano didn’t have control of the ball. The red card hurt us a lot.
“In the second leg, Eric Garcia [who was sent off] wasn’t the last man, [Jules] Kounde was coming on. The referee showed a yellow card, and VAR made him correct it.
“Ferran’s goal was valid, the penalty on [Dani] Olmo was obvious, the aggression against Fermin [Lopez] is intolerable because he split his entire upper lip open and then showed a card to Gavi.
“The kid was suffering while they stitched him up, and not even a card. It’s unacceptable.”
Barcelona will return to La Liga action with a home clash against Celta Vigo as they look to see out the title race. They’re leading Real Madrid by nine points with seven games left.
