Barcelona manager Hansi Flick expressed visible frustration with Anthony Gordon during an 86th-minute substitution at the Estadio Riyadh Air Metropolitano, Mundo Deportivo reported.
Barcelona faced a high-stakes fixture against Atlético Madrid where a defeat could have allowed their opponents to leapfrog them in the La Liga standings, according to Mundo Deportivo. Giuliano opened the scoring early for the home side, putting the Rojiblancos ahead before Barcelona mounted a comeback to take a 2-1 lead.
The narrow scoreline created persistent tension on the pitch as the match drew to a close. That anxiety spilled over to the technical area when Flick prepared his late substitutions in the 86th minute.
🎥 Hansi Flick zdenerwował się na Anthony'ego Gordona, że ten za wolno schodzi z boiska przez co sędzia mógł wstrzymać wejście Karima Adeyemiego. [IG – Seat2go] pic.twitter.com/jhIz0FUkdN
Flick called upon Karim Adeyemi to replace Anthony Gordon late in the match. Mundo Deportivo reported that the English winger walked toward the sideline slower than his manager expected, prompting Flick to call out his name in irritation.
Gordon accelerated his pace after realizing the delay and exchanged a brief greeting with Adeyemi before leaving the pitch. The manager’s reaction stemmed from strict new officiating guidelines implemented this season.
New regulations penalize teams for dragging out substitutions to waste time. A player leaving the pitch must exit within 10 seconds of the referee showing the board.
Failing to meet that limit forces the substituting team to play a man down while the incoming player must wait a full minute outside the touchline before entering. A similar incident occurred in September during a Champions League fixture between Real Madrid and Inter Milan, when Vinicius Junior took too long to depart and his replacement, Carreras, was forced to wait 60 seconds.
The club has not announced any further updates regarding player discipline or fitness following the Madrid encounter.
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