Everything from Frenkie de Jong’s explosive rant against Gil Manzano after Barcelona lose to Real Sociedad

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·19 de enero de 2026

Everything from Frenkie de Jong’s explosive rant against Gil Manzano after Barcelona lose to Real Sociedad

FC Barcelona suffered a cruel and undeserved defeat to Real Sociedad at the Reale Arena, making it two consecutive losses in two years at that stadium. A 1-2 scoreline does not do justice to the quality of attacking football the Catalan club produced on the night.

For the second successive year, it will be a night remembered for all the wrong reasons, with a goal wrongly ruled out for offside and Gil Manzano’s contentious refereeing garnering all the limelight. It is a shame that La Liga still has such issues.

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After the game, Barcelona captain Frenkie de Jong did not mince his words and tore into Manzano for his shoddy performance. As quoted by Mundo Deportivo, he suggested the 41-year-old seemed to have an ego complex. He said:

“With this referee, it’s very frustrating. You can’t talk to him, even though I’m the captain and I should be able to. He looks at you like, ‘I’m above you.’ You can’t contribute like that.”

Frenkie went on to explain how he was yellow-carded after pointing out to the referee that Real Sociedad were wasting a lot of time. He continued:

“Then, in stoppage time, I warned him to watch the clock because every foul—it’s normal that they do it—every throw-in or goal kick was time-wasting. ‘They’re taking a minute to take it,’ I told him. He showed me the yellow card. And even so, he only added ten seconds. I think it’s crazy.”

When someone from the club, off-camera, tried to stop him and warn him against speaking so vehemently about the official, Frenkie said:

“I haven’t said anything.”

The Barcelona captain also revealed that the fourth official hinted to him that the ruled-out Lamine Yamal goal was not actually offside. He said:

“If it’s offside, fine, no problem — although they told us it wasn’t. I spoke to the fourth official, and he told me that. Something similar happened here last year.”

For Barcelona fans, this performance from Gil Manzano does not really surprise anyone. The referee has taken it upon himself to ensure that he costs Barcelona at least one game per season, and last night was his day out.

Frenkie de Jong, as captain, stood up admirably after the game and called out the bluff when it mattered. The 28-year-old has been brilliant in recent weeks, both as a player and as captain, and let us hope it continues for a long time.