Raphinha Blasts Champions League Refereeing as Barcelona Exit: 'It Was a Robbery'
Barcelona forward Raphinha has launched a furious tirade against Champions League officials, accusing them of 'robbing' his team during their quarter-final exit to Atletico Madrid. The Brazilian, who missed both legs through injury, watched as Barcelona finished each match with 10 men, ultimately losing 3-2 on aggregate despite a 2-1 victory in the second leg.
'A Robbery, Not Just This Match'
'As far as I'm concerned, it was a robbery, not just this match but the other one as well,' Raphinha told reporters post-match. 'I think the refereeing is going really badly; the decisions he makes are unbelievable... I really want to understand why they're so afraid that Barcelona will come and win.'
Broadcast footage captured Raphinha repeatedly making a grabbing motion with his hands after the final whistle, a gesture widely interpreted as symbolising theft. 'It was tough, especially when you realise you have to work three times as hard to win the match,' he added.
Controversial Dismissals Mar Both Legs
The controversy centred on two key red cards:
- In the first leg, referee Istvan Kovacs sent off Pau Cubarsi in the 42nd minute after a VAR review for hauling down Giuliano Simeone, upgrading an initial yellow card. Atletico scored from the resulting free-kick through Julian Alvarez.
- In the second leg, referee Clement Turpin dismissed Barcelona defender Joan Garcia after a VAR review for holding Alexander Sorloth from behind while he ran through on goal.
Raphinha expressed particular frustration at the pattern of decisions. 'I think this tie was quite misleading, in my view. I think everyone can make mistakes; everyone is human. But when the mistakes keep repeating themselves in exactly the same way, I think that's something we need to pay attention to.'
Barcelona's Penalty Appeal Ignored
Further adding to Barcelona's grievances was an incident in the first leg where they appealed for a penalty after Atletico keeper Juan Musso appeared to put the ball back in play from a goal kick before Marc Pubill handled it inside the six-yard box to retake it. Kovacs waved play on and VAR did not intervene, prompting angry reactions from the Barcelona bench.
Barcelona had lodged a formal complaint over this incident, which was rejected by UEFA. The governing body has been contacted for comment by Reuters regarding Raphinha's latest remarks.
The aggregate defeat marks a bitter end to Barcelona's Champions League campaign, with Raphinha's outburst highlighting the simmering tensions over officiating standards in European football's premier club competition.
