Barcelona manager Hansi Flick slams VAR for missed calls

In the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday, Barcelona lost 0-2 to Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou.

After the match, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick expressed strong dissatisfaction with the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) decisions, pointing out that the refereeing team's fatal oversights ruined the game.

The turning point of the match came in the first half when Barcelona's young player Cubas fouled Atletico Madrid striker Simeone. The referee initially showed a yellow card, but after VAR intervention, he was upgraded to a red card and sent off.

However, what truly enraged Flick after the match was that in the second half, Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Juan Musso appeared to have taken a goal kick to restart play, while defender Pubil, already carrying a yellow card, handled the ball in the penalty area. Faced with this situation, VAR remained silent.

"I don't know how to call a handball by a defender when the goalkeeper is taking the ball, but this should obviously be a two-yellow-to-one red card, plus a penalty," Flick said angrily at the post-match press conference. "I can't believe VAR didn't review the footage; it feels terrible and unfair."

Despite controversial refereeing decisions and facing a long stretch of playing with ten men, Barcelona still managed to create chances on the pitch. Marcus Rashford, who replaced the injured Rafinha, was active, taking seven shots, but all were brilliantly saved by Musso, who made seven saves throughout the match.

Trailing 0-2, Barcelona will travel to Madrid next Tuesday for the crucial second leg. Despite this difficult situation, Flick remains determined: "We fought with everything we had, even with one less player, but we were just unlucky today. The semi-final may seem far off, but the suspense isn't over yet, and we will fight to the bitter end next Tuesday."

Image source: Internet