Barcelona stars Frenkie de Jong and Eric Garcia have both complained publicly about the officiating during their 4-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final. The major talking point, outside of the dramatic victory for Los Colchoneros, was an eight-minute VAR decision to rule out a Pau Cubarsi goal for offside.
Manager Hansi Flick called Spanish refereeing ‘a mess’ after the game, taking issue with the offside decision against Cubarsi, the process and Giuliano Simeone remaining on the pitch. Barcelona meanwhile are set to file a complaint to the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) about the officiating.
Lamine Yamal was trying to start a fight with Marc Pubill.pic.twitter.com/9qN1oBujmQ
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) February 13, 2026
‘If it’s not AI, it’s a scandal’ – Frenkie de Jong
Speaking after the match to Sporty TV, as recounted by MD, captain on the night Frenkie de Jong was also baffled by the decision to rule out Cubarsi’s goal.
“I saw the image later and it’s clear there was no offside. The image shown on television as the offside call doesn’t show any contact with the ball, and then you see the image where Fermín shoots and the defender is a meter behind Robert. I think it’s very strange.”
🚨 The CTA explains why the review of Cubarsí's disallowed goal took so long. "It was not possible to determine the offside due to a situation of high player density. For this reason, manual offside lines were drawn for the definitive and correct decision". [@partidazocope] pic.twitter.com/MjDv7LEQH1
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) February 12, 2026
“He (the referee) can’t do much, because he’s also waiting. He doesn’t have the image or the video. But VAR does. The image I saw, if it’s not AI, which you don’t realise anymore… If this is the photo, it’s a scandal because it’s very clear.”
It may well be that de Jong does not realise that it was Cubarsi who was given offside, rather Robert Lewandowski, who was onside when he touched Fermin Lopez’s shot.
Eric Garcia: ‘It seems easy to make decisions against us’
Meanwhile it was a night to forget for Eric Garcia, who scored an own goal and was sent off. He too was unhappy with the officiating.
“I think it’s a disgrace that the game was stopped for six minutes to decide whether or not it was offside when they have the automatic referee. An offside that you can’t even see. We’ve already made things difficult for ourselves, and then we add this. We know who we’re playing against, and we have to keep going,” he also told MD.
🎙️ Las declaraciones de Eric García tras el partido del Metropolitano pic.twitter.com/ne694EXtKj
— Diario AS (@diarioas) February 12, 2026
“The challenge from Giuliano on Balde is a very clear red card. Then my red I slip, but he also hits me. It seems it’s very easy to give things against us.”
What a shame to spanish football
You’al know how the var functions.., why then are you on the pitch…..? Remember mpape’s strike at the santiago from long range was cancelled for an offside which was a fantastic piece of goal , best ever produced in an el classico(how outragious it felt to disallow) infact that went well with you guys. Now its your turn & there are cries from camp nou!