Raphinha tore into the refereeing after Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League quarter-finals to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, losing 3-2 on aggregate despite a 2-1 win on the night, with both legs shaped by red cards and VAR calls.
Raphinha did not hold back. “As far as I’m concerned, it was a robbery, not just this match but the other one as well.” He widened the accusation beyond one night. He pointed at the entire tie.
He sharpened the criticism. “I think the refereeing is going really badly; the decisions he makes are unbelievable.” He questioned consistency, not just individual calls.
Then he pushed further. “I really want to understand why they’re so afraid that Barcelona will come and win.” That line carries weight. It suggests suspicion, not frustration.
The context fuels the anger. Clement Turpin and Istvan Kovacs both took centre stage across the two legs. Both reached for red cards after VAR reviews.
In the first leg, Pau Cubarsi walked after a review upgraded a yellow. Julian Alvarez punished Barcelona immediately with a curling strike.
The pattern repeated in the return leg. Barcelona lost another defender after VAR intervened again. Atletico attacked the space and turned pressure into progress.
Raphinha framed the workload. “It was tough, especially when you realise you have to work three times as hard to win the match.” Playing with ten men twice leaves little margin. Barcelona chased control but never fully grabbed it.
He accepted human error, but not repetition. “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.” That is the crux of his argument. Not one error, but a pattern.
Barcelona even pushed the issue formally. They complained about a first-leg incident involving Juan Musso and a potential handball, but UEFA rejected it.
