Barcelona have expressed intense anger over the refereeing decisions by Martínez Munuera and the malfunction of the Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT) during their Copa del Rey tie against Atlético Madrid.
The club is considering filing an official complaint with the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
Hans-Dieter Flick had already heavily criticised the refereeing performance, pointing out that Giuliano Simeone should have been booked for an early foul on Alejandro Balde. Barça were further stunned by a second reckless challenge from the Argentine forward on the Blaugrana defender in the second half, which went unpunished with a straight red card.
However, the biggest shock for Barcelona’s board, coaching staff and players came when the referee took six and a half minutes to review Pau Cubarsí’s goal via VAR. Barça had been set to make it 4–1 in the 52nd minute, only for the goal to be ruled out.
Flick received no explanation from the officials during the lengthy stoppage. The club is enraged, as the semi-automated offside system failed to operate correctly in a tight defensive scenario that occurs dozens of times in football matches.
The explanation from the Refereeing Technical Committee failed to convince Barcelona at all:
“During the analysis, we detected an error in the system’s skeletal modelling when identifying players in a high-density situation. After attempting to recalibrate the model without success, the VAR team manually drew the offside line in line with protocol to make the final correct decision.”
Barcelona will assess the matter this Friday, but it is almost certain they will ultimately submit an official complaint to the RFEF.
