Cry of a desperate Raphinha: "This is a robbery, this match was stolen!"

Barcelona forward Raphinha has strongly criticised the refereeing following their Champions League quarter-final exit against Atletico Madrid.

First of all, before going in front of the cameras to speak about what he called a refereeing robbery, he went over to the Atletico Madrid fans. While the red-and-white supporters were celebrating and singing in front of him, he gestured with his hands that they would be knocked out in the next round — specifically, in the semi-finals. He even briefly got into an argument with them before giving his statement.

He immediately went after the referees, wasting no time. “This is a robbery, this match was stolen. The refereeing decisions were questionable. Atlético players committed I don’t know how many fouls and the referee didn’t show them a single yellow card,” he told DAZN.

Raphinha doubled down, describing the refereeing performance as “very poor.” “It’s unbelievable the decisions they made. I don’t know how many fouls Atlético committed today – and the referee didn’t show them a single yellow card...”

Although Turpin largely maintained order in what was a tense atmosphere at the Metropolitano, it stood out that the home side avoided any bookings. One key call did go his way, however, as Ferran Torres’s disallowed 3–1 strike — chalked off for offside after a VAR check — was correctly judged, denying Barcelona a chance to force extra time.

The match reached another flashpoint in the 80th minute when Eric Garcia was dismissed. The Barcelona defender fouled Atletico substitute Alexander Sorloth during a dangerous attacking move, with the striker surging toward goal.

The situation wasn’t entirely clear-cut, given that Kounde might have recovered to intervene. Initially, Turpin opted for a yellow card, but after reviewing the footage via VAR, he overturned his decision and issued a straight red — a call that sparked debate but had justification.

Raphinha, however, continued to point back to the earlier encounter as he voiced his frustration. “One mistake in a match can happen, but two in a row? I can’t comprehend it. I’d like to understand why referees seem afraid of Barcelona winning,” said the Brazilian, who had to watch both matches from the sidelines.

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Atletico goalkeeper Musso rejected those accusations outright. “You can’t say this match was stolen from them; that’s absurd,” the 31-year-old Argentine told reporters.

He also brushed off complaints regarding the red cards, adding, “He’s acting as if they should have had three penalties and we should have had four sendings-off. We won on the pitch, 2–0 away, and when you’re the last man, you get a red card.”