FC Barcelona were hurt and disappointed after the result against Atletico Madrid as they were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League despite winning 2-1 on the night.
Considering the effort that the team put in and how the controversial refereeing affected the outcome, there was a lot of anger and frustration among the players.
In one such emotionally charged moment, Barcelona winger Raphinha was seen making a gesture towards a section of Atletico Madrid fans, telling them: “You’ll go home next round”.
Raphinha issues apology
Now, the injured Barcelona captain has taken to social media to issue an apology over his gesture.
“Sorry for my gesture — it’s not something aligned with my values and my character. It happened on a tense moment as replying to a fan who was disrespecting me last night,” Raphinha commented on the video showing his gesture towards the Atletico supporters.
Raphinha’s anger after the match
The Brazilian was watching from the stands last night as he is currently recovering from a hamstring injury, and was naturally frustrated about how things went down.
Speaking to the media after the game, he did not mince his words, lashing out at the refereeing, stating that Barcelona were ‘robbed’.
“It’s a stolen match,” he said.
“To make a mistake is human, but for it to happen again in the second leg? We played very well, but this tie has been stolen from us.”
Continuing, he added: “The refereeing was full of problems; the decisions he made were unbelievable. Atletico committed I don’t know how many fouls and the referee didn’t show them a single yellow card.
“I really want to understand his fear that Barça might have gone through.”
Given the nature of his comments, there may even be a possibility that Raphinha could be suspended by UEFA.
