Spanish media slams refereeing: hints at conspiracy including Van Boekel as Barcelona crash out of Champions League classic against Inter | OneFootball

Barcelona’s 7-6 aggregate elimination at the hands of Inter in the semi-finals of the Champions League has rocked the Spanish media.

As Voetbal International reflected on Wednesday morning, chief referee Szymon Marciniak has found a target on his back, with other members of his team of officials, like VAR assistant Pol van Boekel, also coming under fire.

Sport was furious with Marciniak’s performance: “Barcelona came back from a 2-0 deficit thanks to goals from Eric García, Dani Olmo and Raphinha, despite the scandalous refereeing performance of Marciniak. He seemed determined to end the dream of a heroic Barcelona. (It was) A terrible performance by the Polish referee. Why did he prefer Inter at every controversial moment? A penalty for Lamine, a penalty against Cubarsí and the foul on Gerard Martín for the 3-3.”

Mundo Deportivo went a lot further and hinted at a conspiracy theory. “Simone Inzaghi’s Internazionale is in the Champions League final. And Gianni Infantino’s Inter. Marciniak, the man with a toiletry bag from Real Madrid, and the illustrious VAR Pol van Boekel, who already hurt us against Inter when Xavi was still coach, were appointed for this match, and they seemed to have understood FIFA’s message.”

MD also suggested that Inter had to go through according to FIFA. “Every VAR decision, every single one, they ruled in favour of Inter. From the penalty for Cubarsí to the reversal of the penalty for Yamal. Very harsh and very cruel.”

Arsène Wenger, Arsenal’s coach of many years, is now affiliated with FIFA. As an analyst at beIN SPORTS, the Frenchman was also critical of the refereeing especially surrounding Pau Cubarsí’s tackle on Lautaro Martínez. “I am particularly against these types of penalties and the use of slow motion. At normal speed, this is a great tackle.”

GBeNeFN | Max Bradfield