Barcelona president Joan Laporta slammed refereeing standards during Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Getafe, describing the decision not to award his side a late penalty as a “scandal”.
Barca were furious when match referee Pablo Gonzalez Fuertes and VAR Francisco Jose Hernandez Maeso failed to award a spot after Christantus Uche appeared to pull Jules Kounde to the floor with eight minutes remaining.
French defender Conte had earlier opened the scoring for Barca, but Mauro Arrabari’s equalizer meant Hansi Flick’s men were denied a crucial victory.
Speaking this morning, Laporta did not hold back when asked for his assessment. He said: “The refereeing at Getafe was a disgrace. Not to award this penalty to Kute is a scandal. A proper scandal.”
💥 “THE ARBITRATION in Getafe was a SHAME”.
🔥 Brutal ‘RAJADA’ from LAPORTA for the missed penalty on Koundé.
📹 @marccnunezz pic.twitter.com/WC1qWHqDpC
— El Chiringuito TV (@elchiringuitotv) January 20, 2025
Madrid widen the gap between their Clasico rivals
Real Madrid’s 4-1 win over Las Palmas yesterday means Barca are third in the La Liga table, seven points behind the European champions and five clear of Atletico Madrid.
Accusations of bias in Spain are not uncommon, particularly from Barcelona, ​​given Madrid’s traditional role as the country’s capital and power base.
After the game, Flick focused more on the title race and insisted there was still time for his team to catch up.
The German said: “Winning the championship is the most difficult thing. But it’s not over yet, there are still a few games to play. We will fight until the end. Today we got an extra point, but lost two points. However, we have to look forward and do better next time.”
Barca’s poor run in the league continues
Barcelona crushed Real Madrid 5-2 in the Spanish Super Cup final last weekend but have won just one of their last eight league games, their worst run in 17 years.
Flick added: “I’m not worried. I know the situation, I know we’ve lost a lot of points in the last games, it’s not what we want and we can do much better. But in the end, you can see that we started the season very well, this new year, and I’m happy about that.”
