Tribal Football

'Not worth going down that road' - Szczesny urges Barcelona not to blame ref

Alex Roberts
'Not worth going down that road' - Szczesny urges Barcelona not to blame ref
'Not worth going down that road' - Szczesny urges Barcelona not to blame refLa Liga
Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has urged players and fans to avoid blaming the referee for their Champions League elimination on Tuesday.

Barcelona lost 7-6 on aggregate and 4-3 on the night to Inter Milan in what has been regarded as one of the best ties in Champions League history.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Unable to accept defeat, Hansi Flick and Pedri both criticised the officials after the game, with the latter suggesting UEFA should “look into” him.

Szczesny, 35, was also quizzed about the ref but he took an altogether more measured approach, urging his teammates and the fans not to dwell on it.

He told Canal+: "I know that in the event of a defeat, people usually talk about the referee's performance, but I don't intend to dwell on that. There's no need to make excuses. Things will be discussed, but it's not worth going down that road."

Inter were awarded a controversial penalty in the first half after Pau Cubarsi appeared to foul Lautaro Martinez but again, Szczesny didn’t want to be drawn into a discussion.

He added: "It was close and, honestly, I thought there was no penalty at all, but apparently it seems that Pau didn't touch the ball so a penalty was called. It was a quick action and it was decided like that. There's nothing more to say."