Raphinha slams 'stolen' defeat as Barcelona falls to Atletico amid contentious officiating

Raphinha, Barcelona's forward, expressed his outrage over the Champions League quarter-final defeat to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, claiming that his team was "robbed" of a fair outcome.

n

The Catalans suffered a 3-2 aggregate defeat, with a player being sent off in each leg, and Raphinha, who missed the games due to injury, was scathing in his assessment of the refereeing, describing it as "really bad" and the decisions made as "unbelievable".

n

Raphinha questioned the lack of yellow cards given to Atletico Madrid, despite what he perceived as numerous fouls committed by the team, and voiced his frustration at the perceived bias against Barcelona.

n

Hansi Flick's side had managed to level the tie after being 2-0 down on aggregate, thanks to goals from Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres, but Ademola Lookman's strike restored Atletico's aggregate advantage.

n

Barcelona's hopes were further dashed when Eric Garcia was sent off in the second half, following a VAR review, for a foul on substitute Alexander Sorloth, leaving the team with ten men.

n

Raphinha, currently sidelined with a hamstring injury sustained during international duty with Brazil, was furious with the result and felt that his team had to work "three times as hard" to win the match.

n

He suggested that the tie was "misleading" and that repeated mistakes by the officials needed to be addressed, acknowledging that everyone can make mistakes, but that the consistency of the errors was a concern.

n

Raphinha also aimed a taunt at Atletico supporters, suggesting that Diego Simeone's side would be eliminated in the semi-final stage.

n

UEFA has stated that its disciplinary body will review reports from Tuesday's game to determine the next steps, which may include a possible charge for Raphinha.

n

Atletico keeper Musso responded to Raphinha's comments, dismissing the idea that the match was "stolen" from Barcelona, and pointing out that his team had won 2-0 away and that the red card given to Eric Garcia was justified.