Barcelona star demands UEFA investigation as finger pointed at referee

Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League against Inter Milan as they missed out on the final following a 4-3 defeat at the San Siro, but midfielder Pedri questioned a number of decisions made by the referee in charge

Barcelona midfielder Pedri has called for UEFA to investigate referee Szymon Marciniak following their Champions League semi-final defeat to Inter Milan after claiming a number of decisions went the Italian side’s way. Barca were beaten 4-3 after a dramatic tie that saw them claw back Inter’s 2-0 lead to go 3-2 up, before the Serie A outfit themselves produced a comeback in extra time that clinched their spot in the final.

It was an agonising defeat for Hansi Flick’s men, made worse by the fact they were aggrieved over a number of decisions from Marciniak on the night, with Pedri claiming they had also been frustrated with the official in previous games.

Pedri insisted Barcelona should have had a penalty for a foul on Lamine Yamal and said Marciniak failed to dismiss Mkhitarayan for a second yellow card – saying UEFA should look into his performance after “every 50/50 went their way”.

“This isn’t the first time this has happened to us with this referee, and I think UEFA should look into it,” he said after the game. “There are things that are hard to explain.

“There were many situations: every 50/50 went their way, and on the penalty on Lamine, which was later called a foul—he didn’t give [Henrikh] Mkhitaryan a yellow card, which would’ve been his second.”

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His team-mate Eric Garcia was also critical of Marciniak and claimed the team are usually victims of “things beyond our control” when they travel to the San Siro.

The defender said: “Football has been cruel to us. I have come to Inter Milan’s stadium three times and things always happen that are beyond our control. We all know what happened with this referee when we came here last time. But it’s no excuse, they have scored six goals against us.”

Their manager Flick backed up their claims by admitting the 50/50 decision did go to Inter – but said his team had no choice but to accept their fate, saying he was proud of the players’ efforts.

The German boss said: “I know that everyone’s disappointed now that we’re out, but it’s because we invested a lot in this match. We came back again (into the game), and I think some decisions, like the 50/50 were always for Inter, but it’s like that, we have to accept it. It’s football.

“I’m proud of my team, we gave everything, and sometimes you fell like it’s unfair because some decisions the referee made were not for our side, but it’s like that.

“We have to accept it, and we’ll start again next season. Winning the Champions League is one of our goals, because the fans deserve it. We’ll be back next season in the Champions League.”

While Barcelona might be unhappy about some of the decisions, they might also count themselves lucky that Inigo Martinez wasn’t sent off after footage appeared to show him spitting towards Inter’s Francesco Acerbi after the home side’s second goal. The Spaniard has since insisted he was angry after Acerbi celebrated in his ear but was not aiming for the defender.

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