Official VAR Audio has been released on Why Barcelona were denied penalty against Inter despite Mkhitaryan foul on Yamal: VAR has explained why its not a penalty
A former FIFA referee has come to the defense of Szymon Marciniak, the referee who officiated the Champions League semi-final match between Barcelona and Inter Milan. The match ended in a 4-3 victory for Inter Milan, with the Italian side advancing to the final in Munich after a 7-6 aggregate win.
Barcelona’s players and staff expressed their frustration with some of Marciniak’s decisions during the game. Midfielder Pedri was particularly vocal about his discontent, stating that UEFA should investigate the referee’s performance. “It’s not the first time this has happened to us with this referee, UEFA should look into it,” Pedri said. He specifically pointed out the incident involving Lamine Yamal, where a penalty was initially awarded but later changed to a free kick after a VAR review.
Pedri also questioned the lack of a yellow card for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, which would have resulted in his second booking. “In the penalty on Lamine [Yamal], which was after given as a free kick, there’s no booking for [Henrikh] Mkhitaryan, which would have been his second booking,” Pedri explained.
Barcelona defender Eric Garcia shared Pedri’s sentiments, mentioning that the team had experienced similar issues with referees in previous matches at Inter’s stadium. “I have come three times to Inter’s stadium and extraneous things always happen that don’t go our way,” Garcia said. “We all know what happened with these [referees] the last time we came here. It’s not an excuse because we have conceded seven goals, but…”
Despite the criticism, Barcelona’s head coach, Hansi Flick, acknowledged that his team had to accept the referee’s decisions. “Some decisions the referee made was maybe not on our side, but we have to accept it,” Flick said.
The former FIFA referee who defended Marciniak likely believes that the referee made the correct decisions based on the rules of the game. However, the controversy surrounding Marciniak’s performance has sparked debate among fans and pundits, with many questioning the consistency and fairness of refereeing decisions in high-stakes matches.
