Hansi Flick incensed by the refereeing during Atletico Madrid 0-4 Barcelona | OneFootball

It was not a good Thursday for Hansi Flick and FC Barcelona, as they succumbed to a heavy 4-0 defeat against Atletico Madrid at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.

As already reported, the German tactician was far from pleased with what he saw from his players, particularly in the first half, and let them know in no uncertain terms.

At the same time, though, according to SPORT, Flick was left angered and frustrated by the refereeing during the game against Los Rojiblancos.

Flick flummoxed

Indeed, as per the report, Flick became increasingly irritated with the officiating during the match at the Metropolitano.

The moment that left him most incensed was, without doubt, the disallowed goal by Pau Cubarsi at the start of the second half, when Barça returned to the pitch with a very different attitude and could have worked their way back into the game.

Far from happy with the officiating. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

From his position on the visiting bench, Flick was convinced that Cubarsi was not offside. He saw the goal as legal from the outset and celebrated it in a restrained but angry manner, because he was certain it could mark a turning point in the match.

As such, he did not understand anything when VAR intervened. Moreover, he was confused by the embarrassing delay of seven minutes for the decision to be made, which completely broke the Catalans’ momentum after the half-time interval.

The controversial episode at the Metropolitano angered Flick, who was already uneasy when, minutes earlier, Giuliano Simeone should have been shown a red card for a very harsh challenge on Alejandro Balde.

Flick did not understand anything, and at the end of the match, he went to ask the refereeing team for explanations, after a press conference in which he remained restrained about the poor performance of his players, but made clear his indignation with the officiating.