Atletico director fires back at Barcelona complaints after Copa del Rey defeat: ‘I find it curious that…’ | OneFootball

Barcelona’s crushing 0-4 loss to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final has triggered a storm of reactions, and one of the most striking responses has come from a familiar face. 

Mateu Alemany, once a key sporting director at Barcelona and now holding the same role at Atletico Madrid, has weighed in on the controversy surrounding the refereeing decisions in the match.

Given his past at the Catalan club, Alemany’s words carry added significance. He understands the internal environment at Barcelona and the way controversies are often handled at the club. 

Shots fired at Barcelona

Speaking recently, as quoted by Mundo Deportivo, Alemany made it clear that he was surprised by the direction of the discussion around the result. 

He suggested that the refereeing should not be the main talking point after such a heavy defeat.

“I find it curious that people are talking about the referees from Thursday’s game. I think that should be the least relevant thing. 

“In the other day’s match, there is only one action that is being questioned, which is an offside (in the goal that would have made it 4-1 in favour of Barcelona), and offsides, nowadays, are checked technologically. 

“It is objective and not open to interpretation,” he said.

What’s the context?

Barcelona were not happy with the refereeing decisions. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

His comments came after Barcelona formally complained to the RFEF and the referees’ committee, expressing concern over what they believe is an inconsistent use of technology and a lack of unified criteria in key decisions. 

The club felt that several calls in the match went against them, not just the disallowed goal.

Alemany, however, insisted that the offside call was clear and left no room for debate. 

“If it’s offside, there’s no such thing as slightly offside. It either is, or it isn’t. The same thing happened to us last Sunday (against Betis, with a goal by Antoine Griezmann), when we were also called offside by a very small margin. 

“If it’s close, it’s offside. There’s nothing more to say,” he added.

It must be noted that Barcelona’s frustration was not limited to the disallowed goal. 

In fact, the club also pointed to the red card shown to Eric Garcia, arguing that VAR did not even review a similar challenge by Giuliano Simeone on Alejandro Balde. 

That difference in treatment has become another key part of their complaint.