Barcelona Players in sad mood after the 4-3 loss at Inter Milan.
A dramatic Champions League semi-final clash between Inter Milan and Barcelona ended in controversy as the Catalan side crashed out 7-6 on aggregate, with players and manager Hansi Flick pointing fingers at referee Szymon Marciniak for key decisions that influenced the outcome.
Referee Szymon Marciniak who officiated the Inter vs Barca match.
In a thrilling contest that ended 4-3 on the night in favor of Inter Milan, emotions ran high after full-time, with several Barcelona figures expressing frustration over what they described as biased officiating. Inter’s progression to the final came after an intense second leg in Milan, where Barca battled back from a 2-0 halftime deficit to lead the tie briefly before being pegged back by Francesco Acerbi’s 87th-minute goal. Davide Frattesi then struck the extra-time winner to send the Italian champions through.
Inter players celebrating one of their goals.
Marciniak, a seasoned Polish official, was at the center of controversy, awarding Inter a first-half penalty after VAR ruled Pau Cubarsi had fouled Lautaro Martinez — a call Barcelona vehemently disputed. Adding to the fury, a potential penalty for Barcelona was overturned after VAR determined Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s challenge on Lamine Yamal occurred just outside the box.
Referee Szymon Marciniak overlooked this challenge on Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal by Inter’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Barça manager Hansi Flick did not hold back in his post-match remarks.
The tackle that led to Inter’s penalty.
“Every 50/50 decision that the ref had, he called it in Inter’s favor,” Flick said. “We’ll analyze this match as we always do, but I must say, some decisions need to be looked at. The players gave everything, and we deserved more. This team, every player, we deserve respect because we want to win with our style.”
While showing grace by congratulating Inter, Flick added: “Maybe I’ve been speaking about refereeing, but I want to say good luck to Inter. They did a great job. I wish them the best in Munich.”
Midfielder Pedri echoed his coach’s frustration.
“I agree with Flick. This ref gave them all of the 50/50 calls in their favor,” said the 22-year-old. “UEFA should look into this referee. Some things can’t be understood.”
Barcelona defender Eric García, visibly emotional after the match, described the loss as “cruel.”
Barcelona’s Eric Garcia.
“I think football has been very cruel to us,” García told Movistar. “We were far superior in the second half. But we know what happened with the referee the last time we came here. Things haven’t gone our way due to unrelated issues.”
Ronald Araújo, another senior figure in the backline, was more reserved but didn’t hide his discontent:
“I think so, yes,” he responded when asked if the referee influenced the outcome. “There was a foul on Gerard Martín. But anyway, let’s not look for excuses.”
Despite the controversy, Flick praised his squad’s resilience.
“I’m proud of the team’s performance. We’ll learn from this. It’s a learning process. We’ll be back here next season,” he said. “You can’t always win, and the players have to accept that.”
The clash was the joint highest-scoring Champions League semi-final ever, with 13 goals across both legs — matching Liverpool’s 7-6 aggregate win over Roma in 2018.
Barcelona now turn their focus back to La Liga, while Inter await the winner of the other semi-final between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal, with PSG holding a narrow 1-0 lead heading into the second leg.
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