Barcelona forward Raphinha posted a strong message on Instagram complaining that referees apply the rules differently depending on who benefits. He referenced the incident in the Girona match, where he argued with the referee and his assistant about not overturning Girona's second goal due to a prior foul on Koundé.
Raphinha also admitted the team must improve and offered self-criticism beyond referee decisions. The club recently sent a letter to the Refereeing Technical Committee over repeated inexplicable actions — the most striking case was the Girona game, where Barcelona says VAR should have intervened to prevent the second goal, because there was a clear infringement before the follow-up and the goal should have been disallowed. Coach Hansi Flick has also voiced complaints, met officials before the Copa tie with Atlético to clarify actions, and said the rules were not applied correctly in Girona. There is strong anger in the Barça dressing room: players feel they are being treated unfairly and point to perceived favoritism toward some teams like Real Madrid, which they say makes winning the title much harder.
