Barcelona forward hits out at referee over blunder vs Atletico Madrid – ‘It’s clear to me, it’s a penalty’ | OneFootball

FC Barcelona fell to a 0-2 defeat against Atletico Madrid at the Spotify Camp Nou on Tuesday night in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

A first-half red card to Pau Cubarsi left the Catalans at a disadvantage, and they were not helped by some controversial officiating by referee Istvan Kovacs.

One of the most contentious moments of the game came when Atletico Madrid’s Marc Pubill handled the ball inside his own box to restart play after goalkeeper Juan Musso had already started the play by passing it to him.

To everyone’s surprise, the referee did not call for a handball, and the VAR did not intervene either.

It caused a lot of anger and frustration for Barcelona, who are considering filing an official complaint with UEFA over the incident. After all, the correct call could have resulted in both a penalty for Barça and a second yellow card for Pubill.

Marcus Rashford lashes out

And, speaking to the media after the game, on-loan Barcelona forward Marcus Rashford lashed out at the questionable refereeing, expressing his anger at Kovacs for not awarding what he felt was a ‘clear penalty’.

The Englishman referred to a similar incident in a match between Club Brugge and Aston Villa, when defender Tyrone Mings handled the ball after a pass from Emiliano Martinez.

“It’s clear to me: it’s a penalty. It’s happened before and it’s always been given. I don’t understand the decision,” Rashford told CBS Sports Golazo (h/t SPORT).

Rashford dismissed the idea that the situation was unusual, saying: “People talk about common sense, but common sense itself tells you it’s a penalty. Our reaction reflects that, but so does that of their own players. That counts too.

“I’ve been in similar situations in matches where the decision was a penalty. Ultimately, it’s hard not to complain when the decision goes against you.”

Istvan Kovacs at the centre of controversy. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)

The Barcelona forward believes the rules support his argument, as he remarked: “If the player was to take a goal kick, he should have placed the ball with his hand, as the goalkeeper did throughout the match.

“In that instance, he played it with his foot, and then the other player touched it with his hand. For me, it’s a penalty. The rules are on our side.”

Rashford defends Pau Cubarsi

During the same interview, Rashford also defended his teammate Pau Cubarsi, whose early sending-off changed the complexion of the match.

He does not believe the teenage centre-back’s error was “due to a lack of maturity”, but rather a consequence of Barcelona’s style of play.

“If you play with that intensity, it can happen. And if people want ‘Cuba’ not to go for that ball, then perhaps the opposition will end up scoring. He tried to win it back, couldn’t do so, and the referee decided to send him off,” he said.

“But, as I said, after that, the team responded quite well. The only thing we lacked was putting the ball in the net. So in the next match we’ll have to focus on that.”

Despite the 0–2 deficit at the Spotify Camp Nou, Rashford believes a comeback is still possible, saying:

“We need to go there with confidence and show what we’re capable of, because I know we are. Above all, it’s about clearing our minds, approaching the match calmly and performing to the standard we know we’re capable of.

“That said, there’s one area where we clearly need to improve: we need to be more clinical in front of goal. We’ll work on that and try to do better in the next match.”