Laporta rages at referees after Barcelona UCL exit

FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta on Wednesday launched a furious attack on referee Clement Turpin following his club's Champions League quarterfinal exit at the hands of Atletico Madrid.

Although Barcelona won 2-1 on the night, it was not enough to avoid a 3-2 aggregate defeat, which Laporta attributed at least partly to Turpin's display on Tuesday night in the Metropolitano Stadium.

Laporta was unhappy about several decisions on a night when Atletico committed 15 fouls, but none of its players were shown a yellow card, while Barcelona was reduced to 10 men for the second time in the tie when Eric Garcia was sent off for bringing down Alexander Sorloth, with the referee considering Garcia to be the last defender.

In the first leg, Pau Cubarsi was sent off before halftime after another professional foul against Giuliano Simeone, despite Simeone not appearing to have the ball under control.

"In the first leg, they didn't award us a clear penalty, and they also sent off one of our players when it was a yellow card. Giuliano didn't have the ball under control. The referee initially called it correctly, but then VAR intervened, and he overturned the decision and issued a red card," Laporta told the press at the Conde de Godo tennis tournament in Barcelona on Wednesday.

"Congratulations to Atletico Madrid on reaching the semifinals, but this doesn't excuse the fact that yesterday's refereeing, plus the VAR, was a disgrace; it's intolerable," he continued.

Laporta was unhappy about Garcia's red card, as well as a possible penalty when Dani Olmo looked to be pushed as he ran into the penalty area, and an offside decision to rule out an attempt from Ferran Torres which would have made it 3-1 on the night.

There was also another incident when Fermin Lopez needed several minutes of treatment after diving for a header and being caught by the studs of Juan Musso after the Atletico Madrid goalkeeper saved his goal-bound effort.

"They sent off one of our players when [Jules] Kounde could have easily reached the ball; Eric wasn't the last man. The referee showed a yellow card, which was the correct decision, and VAR made him overturn it. Another wrong call," Laporta said of the Garcia red card.

"Ferran's goal was a goal. The penalty on Olmo was a penalty. The foul on Fermin was...Well, you can judge it however you want. It's intolerable, the kid suffering yesterday while they were stitching him up; it's unacceptable," fumed Laporta.