Barcelona coach Hansi Flick criticised the refereeing after his team lost 2-0 at home to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
He was unhappy with a key decision in the second half. Barcelona asked for a penalty in the 53rd minute. The referee did not give it. VAR also did not review the call.
The incident involved goalkeeper Juan Musso and defender Marc Pubill. Musso seemed to put the ball in play from a goal kick. Pubill then handled it inside the box to retake the kick. The referee allowed play to continue. This led to strong protests from the Barcelona bench.
“I don’t know why VAR hasn’t been used. The referee … I think he’s brilliant. We all make mistakes, but what’s the point of VAR? I just can’t understand it,” Flick said.
“It should have been a penalty, a second yellow and a red card as he already had a booking. This is exactly what shouldn’t happen.”
Flick also questioned an earlier red card. Defender Pau Cubarsi was sent off in the 44th minute after bringing down Giuliano Simeone as the last man. Barcelona had to play with 10 men from that point.
“I’m not sure if he made enough contact because the ball was behind him; I’m not entirely sure,” Flick said.
“I don’t know. It might be, or it might not be. I don’t know if he touched him enough. But in other situations, when the ball is touched by the hand, it’s very clear to me.”
Atletico coach Diego Simeone supported the referee’s decisions.
“It’s a matter of common sense,” Simeone said.
“The referee saw it as it was. That Marc (Pubill) received what appeared to be a pass from his teammate to start the move, the referee saw it the same way as Marc saw it. Then we can look at as many situations as we like.”
Atletico took control after the red card. Julian Alvarez scored from a free kick before halftime. Alexander Sorloth added another goal in the second half to seal the win.
