Barcelona Sporting Director Mateu Alemany Blames Poor Officiating for Champions League Exit

Barcelona Sporting Director Mateu Alemany Blames Poor Officiating for Champions League Exit

Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:15 PM
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  • Sporting Director of FC Barcelona, Mateu Alemany has reacted following his side's disappointing exit from the UEFA Champions League
  • Barcelona's destiny was already in the know when Inter Milan defeated Viktoria Plzen to seal the second position, booting out the Catalan giants from the Champions League in the process
  • The Blaugrana also did not cover themselves in glory as the five-time European champions were defeated 3-0 at the Spotify Camp Nou on Wednesday night

Barçelona Sporting Director Mateu Alemany blames his side's Champions League elimination on poor officiating.

The Catalan giants suffered a crushing blow to their chances of reaching the knockout stages of Europe's premier competition following their disappointing 3-3 draw with Inter Milan a fortnight ago.

Needing a favour from Viktoria Plzen, Barcelona were hoping for the Czech Republic minnows to stun Inter Milan, however, they learnt about their fate in a painful manner as the Nerazzurri thrashed Plzen in the early kick-off.

Barcelona, Viktoria Plzen, Inter Milan, Mateu Alemany, sporting director, Champions League
Barcelona suffered back-to-back Champions League exit following their 3-0 home loss to Bayern Munich. Photo credit: Quality Sport Images/Getty Images @FCBarcelona/Twitter
Source: Getty Images

The result rendered Barcelona's home game against Bayern Munich a dead-rubber encounter with Barcelona returning to the Europa League for the second successive season.

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First-half strikes from Sadio Mane and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting added insults to Barcelona's injuries as the Blaugrana suffered their third loss in the competition.

Assessing the disappointing Champions League campaign of the five-time European champions, Mateu Alemany reckoned his side were served a raw deal by referees with special reference to their reverse tie against Inter Milan.

"We did not deserve to lose in Munich. The refereeing in Milan was absolutely incomprehensible," he told Barca TV+ via ESPNFC.

What happened in Milan?

Barcelona were left red-faced in their narrow defeat to Inter Milan after the La Liga giants were denied two opportunities to score.

A goal from Pedri was chalked off by VAR due to an initial handball in the buildup. Additionally, a penalty appeal was waived by the referee.

Fans troll Barcelona after UCL exit

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Barcelona’s hopes and dreams of being among Europe’s elite were crushed once again before they even kicked a ball against Bayern Munich.

The Spanish side were relegated to the Europa League for the second year running, as Inter Milan hammered Viktoria Plzen in the other group game.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Edin Dzeko (2) and Romelu Lukaku all got on the scoresheet as Inter ran out 4-0 winners, The Mirror reported.

Authors
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe photo
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe is a Ligue 1, Bundesliga, and La Liga editor with five-year experience. He previously worked with Sports Corna and 360SportsGH.
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