From the 4th to the 16th of October the barcelona lived 12 black days to say the least. The Catalans played both matches valid for the Champions League group stage against Inter, losing 1-0 at San Siro and drawing 3-3 at Camp Nou last Wednesday. Results that practically denied Xavi’s team access to the second round (not mathematically, but almost ed) which then completely collapsed in the Clásico. In the ‘Bernaebu’ the game against real Madrid ended the score 3-1 in favor of the meringues able to knock out the blaugrana and take home the La Liga match.
A game that, however, was full of tensions, as tradition dictates, especially from the referees’ point of view. The Spanish press, ‘Cadena Ser’ and ‘Mundo Deportivo’, told an incredible story that happened at the end of the match. Joan LaportaBarcelona presidentsaid he was hampered by referee Sánchez Martínez’s decisions, especially regarding the specific episodes of the possible penalty not awarded to Barcelona for lack of Carvajal in Lewandowski and the rigor Eric Garcia in Rodrygo. At the triple whistle, Laporta threw himself into the referees’ locker room to express all his anger and disappointment.
“After the match ended and the refereeing team entered the dressing room, FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta Estruch came in repeatedly asking for explanations about certain situations in the match. without further incident”, writes the referee in his report. Laporta asked “Why” about some dubious referee decisions. Of course, according to the minutes, the protest was not overly nervous, as the Barcelona president left the dressing room without any major problems.
But it is yet another refereeing episode that provoked a furious reaction from the Catalan club. It had already happened after the first leg of the Champions League against Inter, when the referee, on that occasion, did not award a penalty to Barcelona for Dumfries’ handball. After that episode, the Blaugrana club played against Uefa and Laporta’s words, even on that occasion, were certainly not soft: “The penalty not awarded by VAR in Milan in Dembele it’s scandalous. We didn’t like refereeing, of course. I reacted properly and spoke to UEFA.”
Nothing happened after this outburst from Barcelona and no official complaints were presented to UEFA, which, however, completely ignored Laporta’s words. The fact is that the atmosphere of tension that reigns in Barcelona is very strong and testifies to Xavi’s great difficulty in getting the best out of his team, especially in the important and decisive events in which the Catalans, in past and glorious years, certainly did not fail.
Source: Fan Page IT
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
