Dutch midfielder cannot understand the decision to disallow Pau Cubarsí goal. Barça lost 4-0 away at Atlético Madrid in the Copa del Rey.
Barcelona frustration with the refereeing team intensified after a controversial decision in the 52nd minute of the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi final away at Atletico Madrid, when a Pau Cubarsi goal was ruled out for offside following a lengthy VAR review.
The moment became one of the main talking points of a night that already felt punishing for the Catalan side, with Atletico taking a commanding 4-0 win thanks to a blistering first half in which all 4 goals were scored.
From the Barcelona perspective, the disallowed goal was more than a marginal call. It was seen as a potential turning point that could have changed the tone of the second half and, at least, opened a path toward a more manageable deficit ahead of the return leg. At 4-0 down, any momentum shift mattered. A goal early in the second half would not have erased the damage, but it could have provided belief, forced Atletico into a more cautious posture, and given Barcelona a tangible reference point for a comeback narrative. In matches where fine margins decide everything, many fans will look for tools and contexts that help interpret decisions and market reactions, including platforms positioned as a Betting Exchange.
Instead, the incident deepened a sense of injustice among players and staff, mainly because of how the decision unfolded. The goal was checked by VAR for around 6 to 7 minutes, an unusually long delay for an offside decision at this level. The extended review was reportedly caused by the inability to use the semi automated offside system, meaning officials had to rely on manual line drawing. For Barcelona, that combination of a long wait, a manually reconstructed offside, and the images shown publicly created a perception of uncertainty and inconsistency, particularly in a moment where the difference between legal and illegal positioning can come down to centimeters.
After the match, Frenkie de Jong, one of the captains, emerged as the clearest public voice of Barcelona anger. His comments focused not only on the outcome of the call but also on the evidence used to justify it. He insisted that, in the footage he later watched, there was no offside and that the televised images did not convincingly show the key touch on the ball that would define the moment of the offside measurement. De Jong also highlighted what he described as a mismatch between frames: one view that did not clearly show contact, followed by another where a shot is taken and the defensive line appears set in a way that would keep the attacker onside. In his view, it was a strange sequence that undermined confidence in the final ruling.
De Jong drew a distinction between the on field referee, Martinez Munuera, and the VAR team. He suggested that the referee himself could not do much because he was waiting for guidance and did not have access to the necessary video angles. That framing placed the emphasis on VAR responsibility, a recurring theme in modern refereeing debates. If VAR exists to correct clear mistakes, Barcelona argue that it must deliver clarity, not doubt. In this case, the club belief is that the technology and process failed at the exact moment when precision is demanded.
The semi automated offside system was introduced to reduce precisely these controversies. When it is unavailable, the process returns to manual interpretation: selecting the exact frame of contact, identifying the relevant body parts, and drawing lines that represent player positions. Each step introduces room for debate, especially when the broadcast does not show every technical detail or when the chosen frame is contested. For Barcelona, the fact that the check lasted so long only reinforced the feeling that the decision was not straightforward, and that the final conclusion may have depended on a subjective selection rather than an objective, automated output.
Internally, this type of controversy can have consequences beyond a single call. Players can feel that small margins are consistently going against them, which affects composure, decision making, and emotional control in high intensity matches. Staff can become cautious about how aggressively they press or defend, fearing that marginal calls will not be resolved in their favor. In knockout football, those psychological dynamics matter, because games are frequently decided by momentum swings, not only by tactical plans.
Barcelona are now considering filing a formal complaint to the Royal Spanish Football Federation, focusing on both the refereeing performance and the VAR malfunction that led to manual line drawing. Even when complaints do not change results, clubs often pursue them to create institutional pressure, demand explanations, and push for procedural improvements. In practical terms, it is also about accountability: if a key system was not available, Barcelona want clarity on why, how it was handled, and what safeguards exist to avoid similar failures in future decisive matches.
For Atletico, the controversy is unlikely to reduce the value of a dominant win. A 4-0 lead is an enormous advantage in a two leg tie, and it gives them flexibility for the return match, where game management becomes as important as attacking flair. For Barcelona, however, the episode adds another layer of difficulty. Beyond needing a near perfect performance in the second leg, they must also manage the emotional fallout from a night where they believe a key decision went against them, and where the technology designed to remove doubt appeared, in their view, to create even more of it.
As attention shifts toward the return leg, the refereeing debate will remain in the background, especially if Barcelona continue to feel that decisive moments are being interpreted inconsistently. The club stance, echoed by de Jong, is simple: if the images show what they believe they show, then the decision was wrong, and the process that produced it cannot be accepted as reliable in matches of this magnitude.
Updated: 12:44, 13 Feb 2026
