Pedri urges UEFA to look into Szymon Marciniak's refereeing in Barcelona vs Inter Champions League semi-final

The Spanish club feel that the referee’s decisions went against them vs Inter.

Midfielder Pedri has asked UEFA to look into the performance of referee Szymon Marciniak in the Barcelona vs Inter Milan match in the Champions League second-leg of the semi-final.

The Catalan powerhouses lost 4-3 after extra time on the evening and 7-6 overall. The Spanish midfielder Pedri thought that Barcelona were treated unfairly in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final matchup against Inter. VAR stepped in during a number of contentious times during the game.

Inter’s advantage was increased by Hakan Calhanoglu after Pau Cubarsi’s tackle on Lautaro Martinez in the first half earned them a penalty. In the second half, VAR overruled a penalty claim when Lamine Yamal was hauled down.

Speaking to El Partidazo de Cope after the match, Pedri said: “This isn’t the first time this has happened to us with this referee, and I think UEFA should look into it. There are things that are hard to explain. There were many situations: every 50/50 went their way, and on the penalty on Lamine, which was later called a foul—he didn’t give [Henrikh] Mkhitaryan a yellow card, which would’ve been his second.”

Barcelona boss Hansi Flick backed Pedri’s claims against the match official as the German added: “I know that everyone’s disappointed now that we’re out, but it’s because we invested a lot in this match. We came back again (into the game), and I think some decisions, like the 50/50 were always for Inter, but it’s like that, we have to accept it. It’s football.”

Another big decision the officials ignored was when Denzel Dumfries fouled Gerard Martin in the build-up of Inter’s equaliser. Despite plenty of protests, the referee overlooked it.

In order to achieve a domestic double, the Catalan powerhouses will now try to win LaLiga in the coming weeks. On Sunday, they will play the final El Clásico of the season at home against Real Madrid.

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