In the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, Barca lost to Atletico Madrid 0-2 right at home. The away team took advantage of playing with more players due to Cubarsi being red-carded, to score 2 goals by Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth.
However, the decision not to award Barca a penalty in the second half was what made Flick angry. Defender Pubill, who had received a yellow card before, used his hand to block the ball in the penalty area after goalkeeper Juan Musso was making a shot from the goal.
I don't know what will happen if the goalkeeper kicks the ball up, the defender uses his hand to block the ball and then continues to pass the ball. For me, it's clearly a red card, or a second yellow card and a penalty. VAR can explain why that situation was not reconsidered. I can't believe it wasn't a red card. Things are so bad. That's unfair, but we have to accept it," Hansi Flick said after the match.
If referee Kovacs used VAR in this situation, Barcelona could have been awarded a penalty, and Marc Pubill could have received a red card. At that time, the match would have taken a different turn.
On AS newspaper, Spanish referee Iturralde Gonzalez emphasized: "This is a serious technical mistake. They need to use VAR. It's a penalty". According to Mr. Gonzalez's point of view, coach Hansi Flick's reactions were correct.
Previously, VAR interfered in Cubarsi's decision to be sent off. The Barca defender initially received a yellow card for fouling Giuliano Simeone, but after reviewing, the penalty was raised to a red card. Regarding this penalty, referee Iturralde Gonzalez completely agreed with the handling plan of his colleague on the field.
Barcelona had big chances before and after Cubarsi received a red card. Striker Marcus Rashford, who started instead of injured Raphinha, had 7 shots but could not beat goalkeeper Musso.
We played well in the first half and the whole second half even though there were only 10 people on the field. With 10 people on the field, we gave our best but today we were not lucky. We will fight. It's not over yet. We still have a chance and will try our best," Hansi Flick said.
The second leg between Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona will take place at 2:00 AM on April 15th at the Metropolitano stadium. In LaLiga, Barca once beat Atletico 2-1 at this stadium not long ago.
