FC Barcelona suffered another European setback. Things were looking good at first, with Hansi Flick’s troops leading 2-0 half an hour into the game, thus equalizing the tie. However, Ademola Lookman scored the crucial goal for Atletico, who then solidified their one-goal lead. Eric Garcia’s red card in the 79th minute sealed Barcelona’s fate. The decisions made by referee Clement Turpin are once again the subject of debate in Catalonia.
While Barcelona felt hard done by in the first leg with controversial incidents like Pau Cubarsi’s red card and Marc Pubill’s handball in the box, they are still bitter tonight. Garcia’s red card, a disallowed goal for Ferran Torres, and a possible penalty not given for Dani Olmo are highlighted by fans and local media, along with the incident where Fermin Lopez ended up with a bloody face considered a possible penalty as well.
Raphinha Slams Turpin
While Hansi Flick refrained from criticizing Clement Turpin – “I don’t want to talk about it, we can’t change anything, we have to accept it” – his players were more outspoken, like Raphinha. “For me, it was a stolen match, not just this one but also the first leg. The refereeing was very poor, the decisions made were unbelievable, they committed 50 fouls and only received one yellow card,” said the Brazilian in an interview with TNT Sports.
Dani Olmo was less forceful in his comments, but still criticized the French referee. “We are not satisfied, we wanted to qualify, we have to do much better. No one will give us anything, instead they will take away things from us… We will learn from this. There were questionable actions, like the penalty or the red card, Jules was close, he could have reached the ball. It’s not an excuse but…,” said the Spanish international. “It’s not an excuse, but the referee didn’t help us. My elbow? Yes, it was a yellow card. Eric’s red card? Jules was close, he could have given it (the red card) or not,” added Gavi, taking a more conciliatory tone. The message is clear.
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