Barcelona need to stop the sob stories and referee complaints: It's time for Lamine Yamal & Co. to prove how great they really are

Less than 24 hours after the full-time whistle at Camp Nou, Barcelona released a statement revealing that the club's "legal services" had submitted a complaint to UEFA in relation to a bizarre incident in the Atletico penalty area in the 54th minute of the game.

"After play had been restarted correctly, an opponent player picked up the ball in their area without being shown the corresponding penalty," the statement read. "FC Barcelona understands that this decision, along with a grave lack of intervention by VAR, represents a major error.

"Accordingly, the club has requested an investigation be opened, access to refereeing communications, and where applicable, official acknowledgment of the errors and the adoption of the relevant measures."

If the statement had ended there, that would have been one thing, as Barca had some cause for complaint, given Juan Musso looked to have already taken an Atleti goal-kick before Marc Pubill put his hand on the ball before restarting play himself. The problem was that Barcelona weren't done yet.

In the final paragraph of their statement, the Blaugrana claimed that "this is not the first time in recent editions of the UEFA Champions League that unfathomable refereeing decisions have had a detrimental effect on the team, creating a clear double standard and preventing competing against other clubs on a level playing field."

Barcelona's claim that they're being treated differently by officials was obviously absurd, and rather ironic coming from a club accused of sporting corruption in relation to payments totalling €8.4 million (£7.3m/$9.8m) made to companies linked to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira during his time as vice-president of the National Committee of Referees (CTA) in Spain.

In such circumstances, Barcelona really would be advised to keep quiet, and it should not be forgotten that this time last year Hansi Flick was calling out the Blaugrana's fellow Clasico cry-babies Real Madrid for threatening to boycott the 2024-25 Copa del Rey final because of the alleged "hostility and animosity" shown towards the club by the match officials.

"What's happening isn't right," the German said. "We can't lose respect for referees. This is football, and it's our responsibility to protect everyone: players, coaches, and referees. On the pitch, there are emotions, but after the match, we must move on."

Unfortunately, Flick couldn't even follow his own advice after Barcelona were knocked out of the Champions League less than two weeks later.

"We think that the result is unfair because of some refereeing decisions, I have to say it," Flick said after last May's 4-3 loss to Inter that saw Barcelona eliminated from the Champions League semi-finals 7-6 on aggregate.

"I don't want to talk too much about the referee," Flick added, before continuing to talk about the referee. "But every decision that was 50-50 ended up being in their favour; that's what makes me sad."

What was truly sad, though, was that Flick felt compelled to confront referee Szymon Marciniak after the full-time whistle, as it only encouraged further whining from his players in their respective post-match interviews.

Ronaldo Araujo said Marciniak "influenced" the game, Eric Garcia brought up past grievances from games involving the Pole, while Pedri even went so far as to call for an investigation into Marciniak's handling of the second leg.

"It's not the first time that this has happened to us with this referee, so UEFA should look into it, as there are things that I don't understand and they are complicated to explain: all of the 50-50s went for them," the midfielder said, rather tellingly echoing his coach's comments.

Marciniak responded by calling Barcelona's slanderous claims "ridiculous" - and he was absolutely right.

The 45-year-old had even awarded the Blaugrana a penalty on the night in question only for the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), Dennis Higler, to intervene because Henrikh Mkhitaryan's foul on Lamine Yamal had actually taken place outside the area.

Higler was also responsible for the spot-kick awarded to Inter and for all Barcelona's baseless b*tching and moaning about a perfectly legitimate challenge on Gerard Martin by Denzel Dumfries in the lead-up to the Inter goal that forced extra-time, the biggest oversight of the evening was all of the officials failing to spot Inigo Martinez shamefully spitting at Francesco Acerbi after the two centre-backs had exchanged words in the area just before the break.

Of course, none of those facts fit with a narrative that had actually set before the game, with the Barcelona-based newspaper Sport having labelled Marciniak a 'Madridista' with a history of favouring Real - a frankly libellous allegation without any concrete foundation that appeared to be solely based on a photograph of him standing beside a washbag adorned with the club's crest.

Unfortunately, the Clasico's culture of toxicity and paranoia is deep-rooted, meaning Barcelona, just like their most hated rivals, see bias wherever they go, while at the same time turning a blind eye to contentious calls that go in their favour.

After the Pubill incident at Camp Nou, a bewildered Flick asked, "What's the point of having VAR?" And, to be fair, it's a question that a lot of coaches, players and supporters have asked over the past few years.

However, Flick had no issue with the use of technology just four days previously, when the VAR in the Liga meeting between Barca and Atletico at the Metropolitano, Mario Melero Lopez, asked referee Mateo Busquets Ferrer to review his dismissal of Gerard Martin for a reckless challenge on Thiago Almada.

Busquets Ferrer, thus, decided to downgrade the defender's red card to a yellow - but, as the CTA subsequently ruled, the VAR never should have got involved, as the original decision to send off Martin should have stood.

In the context of the Liga title race, it was an absolutely colossal call, as it paved the way for a Barca win that propelled them seven points clear of Real (their lead is now nine) - but that didn't stop the Catalan conspiracy theorists from calling their legal team into action following Wednesday's Champions League loss to Atleti.

It was a really bad look for Barca, as it only reinforced the perception of the club as seriously bad losers - which is a real pity, as there are few more likeable teams in the world from a purely footballing perspective.

For starters, this is a club with a long-established and admirable footballing philosophy based on the teachings of Johan Cruyff, which is why their academy has consistently produced players of outstanding technical ability and incredible understanding of the game. To Barcelona's eternal credit, they've never been afraid to blood youngsters either. On the contrary, it's an integral part of their identity, a source of pride at a club incredibly closely connected to the Catalan cause.

Of course, even by Barca's ridiculously high standards, Lamine Yamal is something special, a legitimately Lionel Messi-like attacking talent that is doing things in La Liga and the Champions League at 18 years of age than nobody has done before. It's already clear, in fact, that the winger is destined to do great things with a Blaugrana squad packed with fellow La Masia graduates.

However, there's a mounting suspicion that this Barca side believes their own hype - which is why they're so prone to throwing tantrums after disappointing defeats. The idea that they might not yet be quite good enough to win the Champions League doesn't seem to have crossed their minds.

Remember, Barca touted themselves as the best team in Europe before their league-phase meeting with Paris Saint-Germain last October only to be put firmly in their place by last season's Champions League winners.

Obviously, the quality of Flick's team cannot be questioned; they're on the verge of winning a second consecutive Spanish title for a reason. However, there are ongoing concerns over their mentality. Cubarsi's red card against Atletico was their fifth in two seasons under Flick and perhaps even more concerning than the propensity for self-destruction is the subsequent lack of self-reflection.

Barca always seem to be looking for someone else to blame rather than focusing solely on themselves and figuring out why they've continually come up short in the Champions League in recent seasons (Flick's ludicrously high line is certainly a factor).

The great thing is, though, that the Blaugrana have got a glorious opportunity to show the world they're as good as they think they are at the Metropolitano on Tuesday night. Overturning a 2-0 deficit away to Atletico would be the stuff of legend - and they're adamant that they have it in them. Ferran Torres even promised a 'remontada' after Saturday's 4-1 derby win over Espanyol.

However, it's very much time for Barca to put up or shut up. Big talk has been too often followed by a sob story. Consequently, the purists' patience is wearing thin. They desperately want to see Yamal & Co. make a statement in Madrid - not read another one from their legal team the following day.