Barcelona forward Raphinha has launched a scathing attack on the officiating in his team's Champions League quarter-final defeat to Atletico Madrid, labeling the tie 'a robbery'.
Despite missing both legs through injury, the Brazilian was incensed by the decisions that saw Barcelona reduced to ten men in each match. The Spanish giants were eliminated 3-2 on aggregate after a 2-1 second-leg victory failed to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit.
'For me, this match was a robbery. Not just this match but the other one as well,' Raphinha told reporters. 'The refereeing was really bad, the decisions they make are unbelievable.'
The controversy centered on two red cards, both upgraded from yellow after video review for denying clear goalscoring opportunities. Defender Pau Cubarsi was dismissed by Istvan Kovacs in the first leg, while Eric Garcia saw red from Clement Turpin in the return fixture.
Raphinha highlighted the disciplinary imbalance, noting: 'I don't know how many fouls Atletico made but the referee didn't give them a single yellow card. I really want to understand why they're so afraid that Barcelona will come and win.'
Atletico received no bookings in the second leg compared to Barcelona's one yellow and one red card, adding fuel to Raphinha's claims of unfair treatment.
The forward also referenced a contentious handball incident involving Atletico defender Marc Pubill in the first leg that went unpunished, despite Barcelona's protests to UEFA. European football's governing body subsequently dismissed the club's formal complaint as 'inadmissible.'
'It was tough, especially when you realise you have to work three times as hard to win the match,' Raphinha added. 'I think this tie was quite misleading. 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.'
UEFA confirmed its disciplinary body would review match reports before deciding on potential action against Raphinha for his comments.
Atletico goalkeeper Juan Musso dismissed the accusations, stating: 'You can't say this match was stolen from them; that's ridiculous. They acted as if they should have had three penalties and we should have had four sendings-off. We won on the pitch.'