Barcelona’s 11-match winning streak at the top of La Liga ended in frustration on Sunday after a 2-1 defeat to Real Sociedad, despite the Catalan side dominating large spells of the match. While Barcelona created chance after chance, misfortune and controversial officiating left them empty-handed.
De Jong Voices Referee Frustration Barcelona
Midfielder Frenkie de Jong did not hold back in his criticism of referee Jesús Gil Manzano, particularly over the disallowed goal by Lamine Yamal and the way players were treated on the pitch. As the team captain, De Jong felt he had the right to communicate with the official but claimed he was dismissed.
“𝑰’𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆,” 𝑫𝒆 𝑱𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈.”
The Dutch international also questioned the management of stoppage time, arguing that delays from Sociedad should have resulted in additional seconds being added.
“They were taking time on throw-ins and goal kicks, which is normal,” he added. “But when I pointed out the clock, I got booked. You can’t even have a conversation.”
Flick Backs His Captain
Head coach Hansi Flick, usually reluctant to comment on referees, supported his player’s remarks after the match. While acknowledging the disappointment, he urged the team to move forward.
“𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅,” 𝑭𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑭𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒌𝒊𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕.”
Barcelona hit the woodwork four times and had three goals ruled out, compounding their frustration. Despite the setback, Flick remained positive about the team’s performance as they turned their attention to the upcoming Champions League clash.
“We didn’t get the result, but the way we played is how we want to continue,” the German coach concluded.
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