Raphinha Accuses Referees of 'Robbery' After Barcelona's Champions League Exit

Barcelona forward Raphinha accused referees Clément Turpin and István Kovács of "robbing" his club after Atletico Madrid eliminated Barcelona from the Champions League quarterfinals on April 14, 2026, with a 3-2 aggregate score. Barcelona won the second leg 2-1 at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano but could not overcome a 0-2 defeat from the first leg played at home. Raphinha, sidelined for both matches with a thigh injury, made grabbing gestures with his hands on the pitch after the final whistle — a motion commonly associated with stealing — and also confronted Atletico fans in the stands. The Brazilian's outburst was the sharpest expression of frustration from a Barcelona squad that finished both legs with ten men following red cards in each match.

Two red cards, two legs, one pattern The two dismissals formed the backbone of Barcelona's grievances against the officiating across the tie. In the first leg, referee István Kovács sent off defender Pau Cubarsi in the 42 (minute) — Cubarsi red card, first leg after a VAR review upgraded an initial yellow card for hauling down Giuliano Simeone as he ran clear on goal. Atletico scored from the resulting free kick, with Julián Álvarez curling the ball into the top right corner beyond goalkeeper Joan Garcia. In the second leg, referee Clément Turpin followed a near-identical course, dismissing Eric Garcia in the 79th minute after a VAR review for holding Alexander Sorloth from behind as he ran through on goal. According to Ouest France, the red card for Eric Garcia was the 13 (red cards in 10 editions) — Barcelona red cards in the last ten Champions League editions, the worst record of any club in that span. Barcelona had also lodged a formal complaint with UEFA over an incident in the first leg, when Atletico goalkeeper Juan Musso appeared to handle the ball before Marc Pubill handled inside the six-yard box — referee Kovács waved play on and VAR did not intervene. UEFA rejected that complaint.

Raphinha rages while Flick stays measured Raphinha delivered his verdict in the mixed zone without restraint, targeting both officials by name.

„As far as I'm concerned, it was a robbery, not just this match but the other one (the first leg) as well.” — Raphinha via Reuters

He questioned the pattern of decisions across both legs.

„I think this tie was quite misleading, in my view. I think everyone can make mistakes; everyone is human. But when the mistakes keep repeating themselves in exactly the same way, I think that's something we need to pay attention to.” — Raphinha via Reuters

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick took a noticeably different tone at the post-match press conference, declining to repeat the sharper criticism he had directed at referees after the first leg.

„I don't want to talk about it because I can't change it. I have to accept it.” — Hansi Flick via watson.ch

Flick did, however, maintain that his side deserved a better outcome on merit, saying his team "would have deserved to be in the semi-finals" and that Barcelona "were much better than Atletico" across both matches, according to Il Fatto Quotidiano. Midfielder Dani Olmo also pointed to the officiating, telling reporters that referees "are not going to give us anything; they are even going to take it away from us," though he acknowledged it was "not an excuse." Atletico goalkeeper Juan Musso pushed back firmly against Raphinha's characterization of events, calling the robbery framing "madness."

„We cannot talk about a robbery. We won it on the pitch. We won 0-2 away, a foul by the last defender in football is a red card... Talking about a robbery seems like madness to me.” — Juan Musso via Ouest France

Atletico advance to face Arsenal or Sporting Atletico Madrid, managed by Diego Simeone, progressed to the Champions League semifinals where they will face either Arsenal or Sporting. The second leg had begun brightly for Barcelona, who leveled the aggregate deficit within 24 minutes through goals from Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres, according to watson.ch. A goal by Ademola Lookman before halftime restored Atletico's advantage and proved decisive, leaving Barcelona needing a third goal they could not find even before Eric Garcia's dismissal reduced them to ten men. The result extended a difficult European record for Barcelona, who have now been knocked out by Atletico Madrid in the quarterfinals in 2014, 2016, and 2026, according to ABC. Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have met repeatedly in the knockout stages of the Champions League in recent years, with Atletico eliminating Barcelona in the quarterfinals on three occasions — in 2014, 2016, and now 2026, according to ABC. The clubs play in the same domestic league, La Liga, making their European clashes particularly charged. The Riyadh Air Metropolitano, Atletico's home stadium in Madrid, hosted the decisive second leg of this tie. Raphinha, who traveled with the squad despite his injury to support his teammates, also directed a message at Atletico fans after the final whistle, gesturing toward the stands with a "Pa' fuera" — a Spanish expression meaning "out" — in apparent reference to Atletico's upcoming semifinal opponents, according to 20 minutos. Reuters said it had asked UEFA for comment on Raphinha's allegations, with no response confirmed at the time of publication. The VAR interventions that led to both red cards remained the central point of dispute between the two clubs.

FC Barcelona, Atletico Madrid