Barcelona stars Frenkie de Jong and Eric Garcia have both publicly complained about the refereeing in their 4-0 Copa del Rey semi-final first-leg loss to Atletico Madrid. Apart from Los Colchoneros’ dramatic victory, the main talking point was the eight-minute VAR decision that ruled out the possibility that Paulo Cubasi’s goal was offside.
After the game, head coach Hansi Flick called the Spanish referees “a mess” and questioned Kubalsi’s offside call, the officiating process and Giuliano Simeone’s stay on the field. Meanwhile, Barcelona will lodge a complaint against the referee with the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
“If it’s not artificial intelligence, it’s a scandal” – Frenkie de Jong
MD reported that captain Frenkie de Jong was also confused by the decision to exclude Kubas’ goal during an interview with Sport TV that night.
advertise
“I saw the image later and it was clear there was no offside. The offside image shown on TV didn’t show any contact with the ball and then you saw the image of Fermin shooting with the defender a meter behind Robert. I thought it was strange.”
“There’s nothing he (the referee) can do because he’s waiting too. He doesn’t have the image or the video. But the VAR does. The image I saw, if it wasn’t for the AI, you wouldn’t realize it… If it was a photo, it would be a scandal because it’s very clear.”
It is possible that De Jong did not realize that it was Kubas who was offside, and not Robert Lewandowski, who was in position when he made contact with Fermín Lopez’s shot.
advertise
Eric Garcia: ‘It seems easy to make decisions that go against us’
Picture from European Press
Meanwhile, it was a night to forget for Eric Garcia, who scored an own goal and was sent off. He was also unhappy with the referees.
“I think it’s a disgrace when they have automatic referees and the game is stopped for six minutes to decide if it’s offside. You can’t even see the offside. We’ve put ourselves in a difficult situation and then we add this on. We know who we’re playing against and we have to keep going,” he also told MD.
“Giuliano’s challenge on Balde was a very clear red card. Then my red card slipped but he hit me too. It seemed like an easy mistake for us.”