Barcelona technical director Robert Fernandez didn’t feel his club got the benefit of the refereeing in beating Atletico Madrid. ‘He hurt us both…’
Fernando Torres was sent off in the first half of the Champions League quarter-final first leg after putting Atleti in front, Luis Suarez scoring both comeback goals having appeared to kick out at Juanfran, while Robert told reporters there could have been a second Atleti red.
“I saw [Torres’] first booking and it was logical. I’d have to see the second again,” he said, AS reports, regarding El Nino’s dismissal.
“The referee [Felix Brych] has hurt us both because he could have sent off Lucas [for the foul on] Neymar. And he could have booked [Jan] Oblan sooner. He hurt both teams.
“Atletico will talk a lot about Torres’ expulsion but a player has to be careful when they have a card, especially if you don’t play the ball.”
Robert admitted that the return leg, at Vicente Calderon next week, is far from a formality.
“We’re going to a complicated ground with a tight result,” he acknowledged.
“But we have confidence in this team. We’re going to try and win the game there and show character.”
