Bad referee decisions cost Atletico the tie against Barca

After three years of complete domination in almost every competition that Barcelona have played in, they are on the verge of losing their crown to arch-rivals Real Madrid. Barcelona’s away form this season has been extremely patchy and their recent away game 2-1 win against Atletico Madrid saw wasn’t barcaesque either.

Barcelona started well in the match, and the first goal of the match was scored by Dani Alves. Atletico, however looked dangerous on the counter and threatened to score. The Barca backline was being bombarded and Victor Valdes was not looking very composed. Still, Barca managed to go into the break with a one goal lead. It was the second half which really had all the talking points of the match.

Around the 60th minute, Dani Alves brought down Filipe Luis by pulling the back of his shirt, in an off the ball incident, as he tried to race clear on a Barca counter-attack. However, he was let off by the referee with a yellow card, when most of the fans thought it would be red. He was quickly taken off by Guardiola, and Cuenca was sent in his place.

In the 82nd minute, Barca were awarded a free kick from almost 25 yards out from the goal. The wall was still settling down and everyone was caught unawares as Messi curled a stunning shot in the top corner of the far post. However, the referee had not blown his whistle before the free-kick could be taken and that leaves a doubt of the legitimacy of the goal. The referee let it stand and Barca took back the advantage after Falcao had restored parity in the 49th minute. The remonstrating Atletico players were booked after questioning the referee’s decision of letting Messi’s goal stand.

A handball by Sergio Busquets in the 89th minute, could have got Atletico a penalty had the referee spotted it. Atletico played well throughout the match and at least deserved a draw, if not a win, but this was denied to them by the appalling decision by the referee.

There is no doubt that the recent Barca team is one of the best of all-times, for the way they have dominated club football in the past 3-4 years. Being a Real Madrid and a Manchester United fan, I’m inclined not to like them, but as a football fan, I marvel when I see their well-oiled machinery come into play. However, the play-acting of Dani Alves, Sergio Busquets and Pedro gives the general impression that Barca are no saints. They should look to set the record straight as they are arguably the best team in the world.