Defending champions FC Barcelona have almost certainly said goodbye to another Copa del Rey title. On Thursday night, the Culers were completely thrashed by Atlético de Madrid (0-4). The game was effectively over by halftime. Weighed down by a completely overwhelmed defense, the Blaugrana were overwhelmed by Madrid's attacks and went into the break trailing 0-4. After the restart, Barça did try to mount a comeback.
More cohesive as a team and more threatening around the opposition's penalty area, the current La Liga leaders even thought they had pulled a goal back with a shot from Pau Cubarsi, who pounced after a goalmouth scramble. However, after several minutes of review, the referee decided to disallow the goal, citing an offside position. This decision quickly sparked outrage on social media. While the match was still underway, the CTA (Technical Committee of Arbitration) issued a statement, acknowledging a technical issue with the semi-automatic scoring system.
Barça once again slams the refereeing
" It was detected that the system encountered a problem modeling the players at the skeleton level. The origin of this technical error stemmed from the software's inability to correctly process the image when detecting a high density of players in the penalty area. Despite the efforts of the VAR room operators, who attempted to recalibrate the modeling system to obtain a correct reading, the organization categorically admits that it was ultimately impossible to restore the semi-automatic system to working order. "
Will this put an end to the controversy? It's far from certain. Interviewed after the final whistle, Eric Garcia was furious. "From what I heard, they initially said the VAR wasn't working, which is why it was taking so long. From what I saw on the replays, I don't really understand; these are difficult things to comprehend, and for one reason or another, they haven't been going our way lately. Giuliano's tackle on Baldé was clearly a red card, and mine at the end was too. Baena was going through on goal, I slipped, and he touched me as well," the Barcelona defender fumed.
And what about Hansi Flick's outburst… “It's a complete mess! The refereeing in La Liga is a disaster. I saw the offside, and there was no offside. What did they take? Seven minutes to check that? They were looking for something to overturn. There was no clear communication either; we received nothing,” added the German manager, furious after this latest controversy. In any case, Barça finds itself with its back against the wall before hosting Atlético Madrid on March 3rd…