THE Barcelona dressing room has been hit with a ‘tsunami’ following the weekend’s ‘ghost goal’, according to reports in Catalonia.
A 1-1 draw at Real Betis has put their chances of a third-straight La Liga title in serious jeopardy — and the result was made worse by the fact the referee waved play on after Neymar’s deflected shot was ‘cleared’ from behind the line.
It is the latest in a long line of what Barcelona claim to be poor decisions by the officials — which have cost points this season.
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And Sport report there have been some serious repercussions following this latest episode.
After a series of penalty appeals were turned down during the Catalan side’s draw against Villarreal, Gerard Pique was seen angrily finger pointing La Liga president, Javier Tebas.
As a result of that, Barcelona players have been banned from publicly complaining about refereeing decisions.
And that has led to the players feeling ‘defenceless’ in the face of poor officiating.
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While the high-profile nature of these recent mistakes has left Spanish officials afraid of refereeing Barcelona matches.
They feel their players have lost faith in them and every decision will be overly scrutinised.
And that players who would not normally get involved in spats with referees are now using phrases such as “You see…always the same”, when complaining about a decision.
The report goes on to explain that officiating a Barcelona game was once a privilege for top refs in Spain, but is now regarded as a ‘punishment’.
Fifa’s head of referees, Pierluigi Collina, has demanded explanations from Uefa president of the Referees’ Committee, Angel Maria Villar, and from the head of La Liga referees, Manuel Diaz Vega.
And he is reported to have personally called Hernandez Hernandez — the official from the Betis-Barcelona clash — to lambast him for his grave error.
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The referee’s assistant is paying the penalty for the gaffe, and will be suspended for a few weeks.
Meanwhile, Barcelona are leading the call for the introduction of goal-line technology in Spanish football, which is not yet in use, on the back of these mistakes.
Despite their array of talent, Luis Enrique’s men find themselves four points behind leaders, Real Madrid, having played a game more.
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