Why Raphinha Could Face Ban After Barcelona Failed to Qualify for UCL Semifinal vs Atletico
- Barcelona winger Raphinha has accused officials of robbery after the Catalans were eliminated by Atletico Madrid
- The 29-year-old slammed refereeing decisions, claiming mistakes across both legs influenced the Champions League quarter-final result
- The former Sporting Lisbon star could now face possible UEFA disciplinary action over his post-match comments
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Brazilian international Raphinha could face a potential UEFA ban following his utterances after Barcelona’s Champions League exit.
The two-time La Liga winner reacted angrily after watching his teammates from the stands get eliminated by Atletico Madrid at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano Stadium on Tuesday, April 14.
Source: Getty Images
The former Leeds United star missed the crucial game due to injury but travelled to Madrid to witness Barça’s quarter-final exit, as they lost 3-2 on aggregate despite securing a 2-1 away win.
In the 4th minute, Spanish international Lamine Yamal gave the visitors the lead before Ferran Torres increased the goal tally in the 24th minute.
Nigerian international Ademola Lookman scored a decisive goal in the 31st minute to ensure the Los Rojiblancos' progress to the semifinal.
What did Raphinha say?
Barcelona winger Raphinha insisted that the referee favoured Atletico Madrid to qualify for the UEFA Champions League semifinal.
According to BBC, the former Sporting Lisbon star lambasted the referee for his decision, adding that the official did not issue any card to the home team. He said:
"For me, this match was a robbery. Not just this match but the other one as well. The refereeing was really bad, the decisions [Turpin] makes are unbelievable.
Watch the video:
"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."
Why Raphinha could be banned
Raphinha could face disciplinary action from UEFA following his criticism of the match officials in his post-match comments.
According to Managing Barca, the Brazilian winger risks a three-match suspension over his remarks after the game.
Source: Getty Images
This is the second consecutive Champions League match in which Barcelona have expressed dissatisfaction with officiating decisions, having previously submitted an official complaint to UEFA over a missed penalty and the failure to send off Marc Pubill in an earlier fixture.
UEFA, however, dismissed the complaint, ruling it “inadmissible.” The statement read:
"It’s human to commit one error, but for it to happen again in another game?” We played really well, but this tie was robbed from us.
“It was tough, especially when we see that we need to put in three times the effort to win the match. I really want to understand why [the referee] is so scared of Barça getting through the tie.”
Psychic cat predicts Atletico vs Barca clash
Legit.ng earlier reported that Nimbus Pronos, a feline oracle which has a reputation for predicting football matches, has picked which team will reach the semi-final between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona.
Diego Simeone’s side holds a two-goal advantage after shockingly winning the first leg 2-0 at Camp Nou thanks to goals from Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth.
Source: Legit.ng
