FC Barcelona traveled to Benito Villamarin for his or her Matchday 16 conflict in opposition to Actual Betis within the 2024-25 La Liga season, however coach Hansi Flick discovered himself on the heart of controversy. The German tactician was proven a purple card after a heated response to a penalty awarded in opposition to his group. It marked the primary purple card of his managerial profession, and Flick has since addressed the incident.
The important thing second got here within the 62nd minute when referee Muñiz Ruiz awarded Betis a penalty after Barca midfielder Frenkie de Jong fouled Vitor Roque contained in the field. Though Ruiz initially didn’t name for a penalty, he was instructed by VAR to evaluation the choice and in the end awarded the spot kick, a name that clearly angered Flick. His seen frustration led to the referee displaying him a purple card within the sixty fifth minute.
Within the post-match press convention, Flick addressed the state of affairs, clarifying his response: “To begin with, I believe the penalty introduced them again, however I stated nothing to anybody, it was a response for myself. However I’ve to just accept it, I don’t wish to talk about referees, I by no means do.
“I believe this was a response as a result of it took such a very long time to look if it’s a penalty or not, and if it’s like this, I’m undecided if it’s that clear, however we’ve got to just accept,” the coach stated, referring to the time referee Ruiz took to validate the penalty for Betis. “I’m actually disenchanted about my purple card as a result of I believe that this has by no means occurred to me, however perhaps it’s like that and I’ve to just accept it,” the coach ended.
The penalty, transformed by Giovani Lo Celso, leveled the rating for Betis, and from that time on, Barcelona struggled to regain management of the sport. Though Ferran Torres put Barcelona forward with a purpose within the 82nd minute, Assane Diao’s last-minute equalizer ensured a 2-2 draw, denying Barcelona a vital win.
Barcelona gamers disenchanted within the consequence
The two-2 consequence was a major blow to Barcelona’s La Liga title hopes. Whereas they continue to be high of the desk with 38 factors, Actual Madrid, with two video games in hand, may overtake them in the event that they safe victories in these matches.
Goalkeeper Iñaki Peña, who made a number of key saves throughout the recreation, shared his frustration with the consequence: “We’re screwed. Letting two factors slip away after going forward within the second half, by which we suffered a lot and Betis cornered us… Ultimately, letting two factors go is basically robust, particularly so late, in an remoted play. We knew we had been coming to a stadium the place the massive groups are going to drop factors, for certain.”
Defender Jules Kounde echoed Peña’s disappointment, although with out the silver lining of his personal standout efficiency. “We’ve let a very good alternative slip by conceding that purpose within the remaining minutes. We allowed them to develop on the finish, with turnovers and detrimental actions, and Betis is an effective group,” stated the French participant, who instructed being pragmatic within the remaining minutes for upcoming video games.
With simply 2 wins, 2 attracts, and a couple of defeats of their final 6 matches, Barcelona has misplaced the momentum they loved earlier within the season. Their subsequent problem will come on Wednesday, once they face Borussia Dortmund in a vital UEFA Champions League conflict to find out the highest spots within the group.
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