Joan Laporta calls out 'disgraceful' refereeing in Barcelona's Champions League second-leg clash with Atletico Madrid & confirms plan for another UEFA appeal

In the wake of a heated European exit at the Metropolitano, Laporta did not hold back his anger regarding the decisions that went against Hansi Flick's side over the two legs. Speaking during a visit to the Trofeo Conde de Godo, the 63-year-old expressed his utter disbelief at how the tie was handled by the officials. Barca lost the first leg 2-0 at home, and a 2-1 win in the second wasn't enough to progress to the semi-finals, and their misery was compounded by a red card for Eric Garcia.

"First, I want to congratulate Atletico Madrid, but this doesn't change that the refereeing yesterday, both from the official and from the VAR, was a disgrace," said Laporta. "It's intolerable what they have done to us. In the first leg they already didn't give us a textbook penalty and they sent off a player when it was a yellow, because Giuliano [Simeone] didn't have the ball under control. The red card hurt us a lot."

The Blaugrana had already attempted to seek redress following the first leg at the Spotify Camp Nou, specifically citing a handball by Marc Pubill, but their initial efforts were rebuffed by European football's governing body. Undeterred, Laporta revealed that vice-president Rafa Yuste is preparing a second round of formal documentation to challenge the decisions.

“Barcelona is demanding explanations as to why that complaint was deemed inadmissible, and Yuste has told me that another complaint will be filed because what happened yesterday is unacceptable. There have been very damaging decisions for the club's interest and we want what happened to be made clear,” Laporta added.

Laporta went through a litany of incidents from the second leg that he believes swung the momentum in favour of Diego Simeone's men. From the dismissal of Garcia to a denied penalty for Dani Olmo, the Barca chief felt every 50-50 call went against his team. He was particularly incensed by the treatment of Fermin Lopez, who was left with blood pouring from his nose after a collision with goalkeeper Juan Musso.

"It was a tie where the refereeing decisions hurt us a lot. In the second leg, Eric Garcia wasn't the last man back, [Jules] Kounde was arriving," he said. "The referee initially showed a yellow card, but VAR intervened and overturned it. Ferran [Torres] strike was a goal, the penalty on [Dani] Olmo was blatant, the foul on Fermin was intolerable because his upper lip was completely split open, and then he showed a card to Gavi... The kid was suffering while they were stitching him up, and he didn't even get a card. It's unacceptable."

The president's comments mirror the fury shown by injured winger Raphinha, who claimed the tie was "completely robbed" from Barca. When asked about narratives that suggest Barcelona are often the beneficiaries of officiating, Laporta was quick to dismiss such talk as nonsense given the evidence of the last fortnight. “The ones who say that Barca are benefited by the referees are shameless. To say that... they only have to look at this Champions League tie. Nobody believes it,” he asserted. The team must now turn their focus back to domestic matters to ensure they wrap up the La Liga title in the coming weeks.