Raphinha angry with the referee after Barcelona’s exit from the Champions League

Barcelona forward Raphinha launched a scathing attack on the referees in the Champions League quarter-final as his side were knocked out 3-2 by Atletico Madrid on Tuesday after finishing both matches with 10 men.

The Brazilian, who was sidelined for both matches due to injury, accused referees Clement Turpin, who officiated the second match, and Istvan Kovacs, from the first match, of ‘robbed’ his team.

«As far as I’m concerned it was a robbery, not only this match but also the other one (the first leg),» Raphinha told reporters after Barcelona’s 2-1 win that night wasn’t enough.

«I think the referees are doing a very bad job; the decisions he (Turpin) is making are unbelievable… I really want to understand why they are so afraid that Barcelona will come and win.»

Television footage showed Raphinha repeatedly making a grabbing motion with his hands after the final whistle, a gesture often associated with ‘stealing’.

READ: Atletico Madrid survives Barcelona’s early blitz to reach Champions League semi-finals

“It was tough, especially when you realize you have to work three times as hard to win the match,” Raphinha added.

«I think this tie was quite misleading in my opinion. I think everyone can make mistakes; everyone is human. But if the mistakes keep repeating themselves in exactly the same way, I think that’s something we need to pay attention to.»

Reuters UEFA has asked for comment.

In last week’s first leg, Kovacs sent off Pau Cubarsi in the 42nd minute after a VAR review for bringing down Giuliano Simeone while driving clear on goal, upgrading an initial yellow card.

Atletico scored from the resulting free-kick, Julian Alvarez curling into the top right corner past Joan Garcia.

On Tuesday, Turpin followed a similar course when Barca defender Garcia was dismissed following a VAR review for holding Alexander Sorloth from behind as he ran through on goal.

Barcelona had filed a formal complaint, which was rejected by UEFA, over an incident early in the second half of the first leg.

The team had requested a penalty after Atletico keeper Juan Musso appeared to put the ball back into play from a goal kick before Marc Pubill entered the six-yard box to collect the ball again.

Kovacs allowed play to continue and VAR did not intervene, which led to angry reactions from the Barcelona bench.

Published on April 15, 2026