by Barcelona are set to lodge a formal complaint with UEFA over Tuesday night’s controversial refereeing display during their Champions League defeat against Inter Milanaccording to reports in Spain.
The Catalan giants lost more ground in Group C when they fell to a 1-0 defeat at the San Siro.
Hakan Calhanoglu scored just before the half-time whistle to seal an important win for Simone Inzaghi’s side, who have won two of three Champions League games.
Barcelona, meanwhile, were left seething after a series of decisions went against them during Tuesday’s clash.
The biggest decision of the night came late on when the visitors were denied what looked like a clear penalty when Denzel Dumfries touched the ball with his hand inside the box.
Despite the evidence from the replays, referee Slavko Vincic decided not to award a spot. a moment that angered Barcelona boss Xavi and his players.
After the full-time whistle, a furious Xavi said: “I’m disappointed with the situation we had to live in.
“It’s unfair, I already said yesterday that the referees should talk because I don’t understand anything. He didn’t want to give me an explanation at the end of the game.”
Barcelona were denied a late penalty in the closing moments of their match against Inter last night… 😲
Was it the right call by the referee?#UCL pic.twitter.com/0ynT1YR0NI
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) October 5, 2022
As well as the questionable penalty decision, some believe Barca should have been awarded another penalty after a push on Robert Lewandowski, while many agreed goalscorer Hakan Calhanoglu should have seen red after a tackle on Sergio Busquets .
Eduardo Iturralde, a former La Liga referee, made his feelings clear about the refereeing decisions on Tuesday night.
“There is an extremely clear red card to Calhanoglu for his tackle on Busquets,” he said. @BarcaUniversal. “There are two penalties that were not awarded, one for the handball, the other after pushing Lewandowski. I know sometimes you can make mistakes, but this…”
Wrong referee decisions tonight:
– No handball penalty called for by Dumfries
– No penalty called for pushing Lewandowski
– No red card given to Tsalhanoglu for his tackle on Busquets
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) October 4, 2022
Spanish side AS claim that Barcelona will now make a formal complaint to UEFA through their legal services.
The complaint will include images to show what they believe is a “gross act of injustice.” They also suggest the Spanish club will ask Pol van Boekel, who was in the VAR room on Tuesday, never to be involved in a Barcelona game again.
Barça are currently in third place in Group C with three points.
“Now we have three finals to play,” Xavi said after the final whistle. “We are in an uncomfortable position, they have six points, we have three and Bayern have nine.
“We had our chances but we couldn’t take them and they scored with a shot from distance – we knew that was one of their strengths.”
🎙️🚨| Xavi: “I’m angry and I think the result is UNFAIR, that’s why I said yesterday that the referees should come out and talk to the media. I asked for an explanation after the match, but he refused to give me an explanation.” #fcblive #InterBarça #UCL 🔵🔴 pic.twitter.com/MLtM4V9t1K
— BarçaTimes (@BarcaTimes) October 4, 2022
Thoughts on the decisions?
Let us know in the comments.
