Barcelona’s heavy 0-4 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final was already painful enough, but within the dressing room, the frustration did not come only from the scoreline.
Much of the anger was directed at the disallowed goal scored by Pau Cubarsi, a decision that left several players stunned.
The goal was ruled out after a long VAR review that lasted more than six minutes.
Referee Juan Martinez Munuera waited for confirmation from VAR official Pablo Gonzalez Fuertes, who was forced to rely on manual offside lines because the semi-automatic offside system was not available.
That decision has become one of the main talking points after the match, especially among Barcelona players.
Outburst from Frenkie de Jong
Midfielder Frenkie de Jong was one of the most vocal figures, openly expressing his disbelief while speaking to international media in the mixed zone.
After reviewing the images himself, the Dutch midfielder made it clear that he did not agree with the final call.
“I saw the image afterwards and you can clearly see that there was no offside.
“In the image shown on television of the offside, you can’t see the contact with the ball, and then you see the image where Fermin shoots and the defender is a meter behind Robert.
“I think it’s very strange,” said De Jong as quoted by Mundo Deportivo.
The Barcelona midfielder also pointed out that the referee on the pitch was not fully responsible for the situation.
Instead, he suggested that the real issue lay with the VAR process and the images being used.
“He [the match official] can’t do much because he’s also waiting.
“He doesn’t have the image or the video. But VAR does. The image I saw, if it’s not AI, which you can’t tell anymore.
“If this is the photo, it’s a scandal because it’s very clear,” added the visibly frustrated midfielder.