Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid on Sunday but controversy soon followed, as they complained about the assistant referee spying on them after the match.
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Barca celebrate narrow win over AtleticoNumber of controversial decisions Assistant caught eavesdropping outside dressing roomWHAT HAPPENED?
Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez was in charge of the match and the Montjuic home crowd felt that Barcelona had been given the short end of the stick on several occasions, particularly about Joao Felix's penalty appeal, Memphis Depay's two fouls, and his block of Ilkay Gundogan during the German's forward play. Linesman Raul Cabanero was allegedly discovered outside the Barcelona locker room following the game, according to [via ]. They claim he was listening in on the players throughout both half-time and full-time. Press officer Edu Polo instructed Cabanero to leave the premises of the locker room at full-time; however, the linesman summoned Sanchez over his radio, who subsequently inquired about Polo's identity. When Xavi Hernandez showed up, he verified Polo's identification.
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According to Diario AS [Football Espana], Sanchez urged composure, and a discussion was able to fix the matter. They do, however, support Sport's accusations, asserting that Cabanero entered the locker room at half-time to perform the routine player kit check, which is typically done outside the locker room.
DID YOU KNOW?
This season, the Catalans and referees have had a tense relationship that president Joan Laporta brought up last weekend when he insisted his club should have received a penalty for a foul on Raphinha in the LaLiga match against Rayo Vallecano.
WHAT NEXT FOR BARCELONA?
Although there isn't likely to be any official process for this type of action, Barcelona will undoubtedly be tempted to vent their displeasure even more in a period when the big two have been eager to fuel the embers of refereeing controversy. All things considered, in recent seasons, officiating in Spain has far too frequently been a topic of discussion.