In a thrilling Champions League quarter-final second leg at the San Siro, Inter Milan edged out Barcelona 4-3, winning 7-6 on aggregate and eliminating Hansi Flick’s men from Europe. After falling 2-0 behind by halftime, Barça fought back with goals from Eric Garcia and Dani Olmo, drawing the match level. However, controversy struck in the 71st minute when referee Szymon Marciniak initially awarded a penalty for Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s foul on teenage sensation Lamine Yamal — only to overturn it after a VAR review, ruling the contact began just outside the box.
Former top-level referee Mateu Lahoz criticized the decision on Spanish TV, claiming the foul clearly continued into the area and should have resulted in a penalty. “For me, it’s a penalty. There were two fouls — one outside and one inside,” Lahoz stated, questioning why Marciniak didn’t review the full footage, unlike in a previous VAR decision involving Pau Cubarsí.
However, ESPN analyst Dale Johnson offered a different view, arguing the foul’s location is determined by the point of first contact — not whether it continues into the box — exposing a grey area in current rules.
With only the La Liga title still up for grabs, Barcelona’s treble dreams are over. The controversial officiating has sparked fury in Catalonia, especially after late goals from Acerbi and Frattesi sealed Inter’s win. Pedri has urged UEFA to investigate the referee, and Flick hinted at bias in his post-match remarks — a twist of irony given Barcelona’s past criticism of Real Madrid’s referee compl
aints.
