Champions League: Barcelona Coach Rages Over Refereeing Blunders Post Semi-Final Exit
FC Barcelona manager Hansi Flick fumed at Polish referee Szymon Marciniak after the team's semi-final exit in the Champions League. Barcelona lost 3-4 to Inter Milan in the second leg of the competition in a memorable tie at the San Siro on Tuesday night, May 6.
During an intense match, Barcelona mounted a comeback after being down 0-2. , just like they did in the first leg of the competition, but were undone by a late Extra Time goal. Several 50-50 calls went against Barcelona on Tuesday, which had Flick fuming at the press conference after the match.
Inter Milan stopped the Catalans from reaching their first Champions League final in a decade after an extra-time goal by home substitute Davide Frattesi. Barca thought they had victory in the bag when they roared back from two goals down to grab a 3-2 lead with Raphinha's goal in the 87th minute, but the hosts equalised through Francesco Acerbi's well-directed flick-in, in added time to stay alive, and then scored the winning goal in extra time.
While Flick did not mention what the inflexion points were, during the match, the Barcelona coach was seen agitated with two decisions - one against Pau Cubarsi which resulted in a penalty against Barcelona, and then against Lamine Yamal, where Barcelona were given a free kick instead of a penalty, despite the foul being carried into the box.
The Barca players and coaching staff also raised objections regarding what they perceived as a handball within the penalty area committed by Inter’s defender Acerbi, along with a foul by full-back Denzel Dumfries against Gerard Piqué during the sequence leading up to the equalising goal that forced extra time.
"I’m not keen on discussing the referee at length, but every 50-50 call seemed to go Inter’s way," Flick stated during a press briefing.
"I am disappointed, but not with my team. They tried everything. It's the way it is. We are out, but next year we will try again to make the fans happy.
It saddens me... My team performed exceptionally well. I’m reluctant to discuss the referee... I’ve expressed my opinions to him directly, however, I won’t be elaborating further on what was said...
After clinching the Copa del Rey, Barca was aiming for a hat-trick of titles; however, they will shift their attention to La Liga next. Currently at the summit of the league standings, they are set to welcome arch-rivals Real Madrid this Sunday. Real Madrid lags behind by four points, with only four matches remaining in the season.
The five-time winners were hoping to reach their first Champions League final since 2015, but were left licking their wounds ahead of Sunday's 'El Clasico'. Unbeaten domestically since late December, Barcelona will try to grab a fourth consecutive victory over Real this season.
"We will take lessons from this experience. It’s part of moving forward. Our aim is to continue learning. Although we don’t have ample training time right now, we will resume operations next weekend. Feeling let down is perfectly natural," Flick stated.
The team has rightfully gained the respect they've earned. Our aim is to secure victories and title wins, particularly as we face La Liga, which will be an extremely tough challenge. With just a handful of days before the match, we have ample time to strategize. Every player should feel proud when they return home after looking at their reflection. We’ll approach the analysis of the upcoming game in a composed manner and determine our next steps,” the coach stated conclusively.
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