Barca fume over 'unfair' decisions as they point finger at ref for Inter defeat

Barcelona stars Pedri and Eric Garcia and manager Hansi Flick took aim at referee Szymon Marciniak after feeling aggrieved at some decisions in their 4-3 extra-time defeat by Inter Milan

Barcelona pointed the finger at referee Szymon Marciniak after losing their Champions League semi-final second leg against Inter Milan in the most dramatic of circumstances. Barca appeared to be going through to the final after Raphinha's 87th-minute goal put them 3-2 up on the night, only to capitulate as Inter roared back.

Veteran defender Francesco Acerbi popped up in centre-forward position to turn in Denzel Dumfries' cross in the 93rd minute to level the scores at 3-3 on the night and 6-6 on aggregate and send the tie to extra time.

Davide Frattesi then turned match-winner, picking out the bottom corner with a cool finish, while Yann Sommer produced some stunning saves to preserve the lead.

It was a wonderful, see-sawing match packed full of goals and incidents and Marciniak had some important calls to make. He awarded Inter a penalty for a foul by Pau Cubarsi on Lautaro Martinez after VAR sent him to the pitchside monitor and later turned a Barca spot-kick into a free-kick after VAR decided Henrikh Mkhitaryan's foul on Lamine Yamal was outside the box.

Barca also felt aggrieved at Inter's late equaliser, believing Dumfries had fouled Gerard Martin in the build-up. Manager Hansi Flick and substitute Pau Victor were booked for their protestations in a feisty atmosphere on the touchline and experienced Polish official Marciniak was on the receiving end of some barbs post-match too.

“This isn’t the first time this has happened to us with this referee, and I think UEFA should look into it. There are things that are hard to explain," Barca midfielder Pedri told El Partidazo de Cope.

“There were many situations. Every 50/50 went their way, and on the penalty on Lamine, which was later called a free-kick, he didn’t give Mkhitaryan a yellow card, which would’ve been his second.”

Eric Garcia also took aim Marciniak in an interview with Movistar Plus. "Football has been cruel to us," he said. "I have come to Inter Milan's stadium three times and things always happen that are beyond our control. We all know what happened with this referee when we came here last time. But it's no excuse, they have scored six goals against us."

Flick followed the lead of his players in his press conference. "I don't want to talk too much about the referee, but every decision that was 50-50 went (Inter's) way," he said.

"I am disappointed, but not with my team. They tried everything. It's the way it is. We are out, but next year we will try again to make the fans happy.

"It makes me sad... My team did an excellent job. I don't like talking about the referee... I've told him what I think, but I'm not going to say it here what I've said."

Turning his attention to La Liga, he added: "Each player, when they get home, can look in the mirror and be proud of themselves. We'll analyse the game calmly and see what we can do."