Raphinha has launched a strong criticism of the refereeing in Barcelona’s Champions League quarter-final exit against Atletico Madrid, describing the tie as a “robbery”.
The Brazilian forward missed both legs of the tie through injury but watched on as his side were knocked out with a 3-2 aggregate defeat.
Barcelona won the second leg 2-1 at home on Tuesday night but could not overcome the 2-0 deficit from the first meeting.
Barcelona Crashed Out Despite Second Leg Win vs Atletico Madrid
The Catalan club were reduced to 10 men in the second leg when Eric Garcia was sent off, following a similar red card for Pau Cubarsi in the first leg.
Both dismissals came after referees reviewed incidents at the pitchside monitor for denying obvious goalscoring opportunities.
Raphinha was particularly unhappy with the overall officiating across the two matches, pointing to decisions that went against Barcelona and the lack of cards shown to Atletico players.
Raphinha Calls Out “Unbelievable” Decisions vs Atletico Madrid
Speaking after the second leg, the 29-year-old did not hold back. “For me, this match was a robbery. Not just this match but the other one as well,” Raphinha said.
“The refereeing was really bad, the decisions they make are unbelievable. I don’t know how many fouls Atletico made but the referee didn’t give them a single yellow card.”
He added that it felt like officials were afraid of Barcelona winning. “I really want to understand why they’re so afraid that Barcelona will come and win.”
Raphinha also suggested the mistakes were too consistent to ignore.
He said: “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.”
Controversy Over Barcelona Red Cards and VAR
The tie was full of talking points. In the first leg, Barcelona complained to UEFA about a “grave lack of VAR intervention” after Atletico defender Marc Pubill handled the ball in his own penalty area, but UEFA dismissed the protest as “inadmissible”.
Atletico goalkeeper Juan Musso hit back at the claims, saying it was “ridiculous” to suggest the match was stolen and that his team had earned the victory on the pitch.
Raphinha’s comments could now land him in hot water, with UEFA set to review reports from the game and potentially charge the forward.
What Next for Raphinha and Barcelona
Despite the disappointing European exit, Barcelona can now focus fully on their domestic campaign in La Liga. Raphinha has been one of the standout performers for Hansi Flick‘s side this season when fit, and fans will be hoping he returns quickly from injury to help push for silverware on the home front.
The defeat ends Barcelona’s Champions League hopes for another year, leaving many supporters frustrated with the way the tie unfolded.
This latest outburst from Raphinha highlights the high emotions surrounding big European nights and the intense scrutiny on refereeing decisions at the highest level.
