Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has hit out at refereeing standards after VAR dominated. clash between Atlético Madrid and FC Barcelonawhere several questionable decisions affected the outcome. The Atlético boss questioned the consistency of officiating after a red card, overturned suspension and several key calls against his side in a controversial 2-1 defeat.
Barcelona moved up by seven points Real Madrid top of La Liga after Madrid’s earlier loss to RCD Mallorca. However, Simeone vented his frustration at the inconsistency when it comes to referees using VAR and how it affected Atletico’s clash against the Blaugrana.
“We played very well in the first half, with chances on both sides, we pressed well and created opportunities, but then we had a sending-off, which was justified. We held on to a possible offside and in such a situation VAR cannot intervene for a second yellow card,” he added.
Simeone cited another LaLiga match between Real Betis and Rayo Vallecano where a similar incident was judged in a completely different way.
“In the Betis-Rayo game they said the same challenge was a red card when the ball went over the leg and stepped on it. So did they see it or not? They saw it,” he added.
The Atletico coach’s comments come amid growing scrutiny of VAR interventions in Spain, with several clubs questioning the application of the rules and a lack of consistency in key decisions across matches, issues that have repeatedly affected high-stakes title games.
THE MATCH TURNS BETWEEN VAR DRAMAS AND A LATE TWIST
Barcelona took advantage of the chaos to secure a vital victory at the Wanda Metropolitano. Atletico got off to a flying start, Antoine Griezmann going just wide of Giuliano Simeone when he put the visitors ahead in the 39th minute after latching on to a long ball from Clement Lenglet to finish off Joan Garca.
Barcelona responded just before half-time Marcus Rashfordwho drove past the defenders and fired home for the equaliser. The defining moment of the match came when Nicols Gonzlez was sent off after his second yellow card was upgraded to a straight red for an appeal on Lamine Yamal.
Atlético’s frustration deepened when Gerard Martn overturned the red card after a VAR review, further angering the home side. Atletico continued to push forward despite their numerical disadvantage, but Barcelona found a lucky winner in the 87th minute when Joo Cancelo’s shot was parried by Juan Musso straight at Roberto Lewandowski and the ball bounced into the net.
– The end
Published on:
05 Apr 2026 11:37 IST
