Barcelona forward Raphinha has vehemently criticized the refereeing following his club's Champions League quarter-final elimination by Atletico Madrid. The Brazilian, who missed both matches due to injury, accused referees of "robbing" his team.
"It was a robbery, not just this match but the other one as well," Raphinha stated, expressing disbelief at the decisions made by officials Clement Turpin and Istvan Kovacs. He questioned the referees' apparent apprehension towards Barcelona's success.
Broadcast footage showed Raphinha making a gesture associated with stealing after the final whistle. He lamented the need to "work three times as hard" due to what he perceived as repeated, consistent errors by the referees.
In the first leg, Pau Cubarsi was sent off after a VAR review, leading to a free-kick goal for Atletico. In the second match, defender Garcia received a similar red card following a VAR intervention. Barcelona had previously lodged a complaint with UEFA over a first-leg incident involving a goalkeeper's goal kick and a handball, which was rejected.