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Barça does not want to go to war against UEFA for referees

BarcelonaA psychological goal, one of those that hurt especially, by the Turkish Çalhanoğlu before the break meant that Barça were reunited with unwanted ghosts in the Champions League. Xavi Hernández’s men had more possession of the ball and more clear chances than their opponent at Giuseppe Meazza, but they did not capitalize on their game plan against an Inter Milan team that reaped the rewards thanks to being very consistent in their own field and vertical when stepping on the opponent’s ground. The second defeat in a row in the top competition eliminates the margin of error in the three days left for the tie to be decided, two of which at the Camp Nou, where the Blaugrana will have to beat Inter (October 12) and Bayern (on the 26th) so as not to take more damage. In their early morning return to Barcelona, ​​the expedition led by Joan Laporta expressed concern at the real possibility of being left out of the Champions League again for the second campaign in a row, but above all indignation at the performance of the refereeing duo formed by Slovenian Vincic on the field and Dutchman Van Boekel in the video referee room. Both from the box office and from the coaching staff they place part of the responsibility for the defeat on Italian soil.

In the heat of the moment, Xavi was in charge of putting words to the opposition. “I’m very angry because it’s an injustice. I’ve said it other times: the referees should explain themselves. Why doesn’t he blow the penalty? For me it’s very clear. But that should be up to him to argue. I asked him for an explanation and I didn’t understand him,” the midfielder said in the post-match press conference, referring to the stoppage-time action that Dumfries avoided with his hand inside the box. area that Ansu Fati finished with a head. Vincic and Van Boekel did not spin as thinly as minutes before, when they pointed to a hand precisely from the Hispanoguinean to nullify Pedri’s equalizing goal, nor that in the first half, when they agreed that Eric Garcia he had committed a penalty for the same reason in a play invalidated by Lautaro’s offside. In private, the anger was rising. “It’s unacceptable. All this with VAR can’t happen and it makes you think badly,” they told ARA from the dressing room, where they also regret the medical bill for the trip to Milan. Christensen will be sidelined for at least two weeks with a sprained ankle, while Kessie is suffering from a muscle strain. Both are ruled out to play the classic.

With the wound open, Barça considered sending a formal protest to UEFA for the refereeing action at the Meazza, but with the passing of the hours this route has cooled to the point that the entity will explore more diplomatic routes for his voice to be heard. From the noble floor of the Camp Nou they consider that it can be counterproductive to make big announcements and generate noise against the continental estate. That is why it will be decided to recover the work of corridors and ask for the relevant explanations through people with ascendancy like Laporta himself or Mateu Alemany, who are used to dealing with high officials in the world of football. In addition, the club is aware that the open litigation on the subject of the Superliga does not help in the relationship with UEFA. In this sense, in mid-December a verdict will be issued by the Court of Justice of the European Union on the existence or not of a position of dominance by the supranational states (UEFA and FIFA) in relation to the new competition they propose Madrid, Barça and Juventus despite the traditional Champions League format, in force since the mid-1990s.

Barça and Madrid repeat VAR referee

One of the things that will be transferred to the European body is why Van Boekel has acted as Barça’s VAR referee in three of the last four European games (Eintracht, Bayern and Inter) played. The Dutchman, in fact, already caused some controversy for not warning the main referee during the visit to the Allianz Arena about a possible penalty on Dembélé with the score tied at zero. ARA has asked if this repetition is common and, taking as a sample the Spanish teams in the Champions League, Barça’s group rivals, PSG and Manchester City, only Madrid has seen how the Italian Massimiliano Irrati controlled the VAR both in the second matchday against Leipzig and in the third against Xakhtar. The rest of the groups analyzed have had a different professional in each European engagement.

Although the refereeing controversy grabbed attention after the defeat against Inter, Xavi and his assistants are clear that the recipe they followed to try to win on Italian soil was not the right one. “It’s clear that it was difficult for us to generate”, they admit from Sant Joan Despí, where no positive conclusions can be drawn about the tactical disposition of the players. Looking ahead to the next matches, and even more so considering the losses that have come, it is expected that Barça will evolve to get back to the version before the national team stoppage. Because the step back in Mallorca and Milan is obvious.

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