Barcelona 2-2 Man Utd: Why did Erik ten Hag complain about referee? | OneFootball

Erik ten Hag was not the happiest of bunnies after Manchester United's 2-2 draw with Barcelona in the UEFA Europa League.

While the Red Devils boss rightly praised the quality of the encounter, he wasn't best pleased with a potentially pivotal call by referee Maurizio Mariani.

The incident in question came just past the 63-minute mark, soon after United had taken a 2-1 lead.

Jules Kounde's own goal was the reason United were ahead and the France international was then centre of attention once again.

The former Sevilla defender appeared to trip Marcus Rashford just outside the penalty area as the last man, but the referee decided it wasn't a foul.

At first glance, it looked a stonewall infringement by Kounde, especially as Rashford had no reason to try and con the officials by diving.

You can make up your own mind by watching footage of the moment here...

Video: Did Kounde foul Rashford?

It certainly looks like Kounde got away with one - and it's a surprise VAR didn't get involved, as it so often does.

Given the evidence above, Ten Hag's furious touchline reaction - which he was yellow carded for - is understandable.

And the Dutchman certainly didn't hold back in his post-match interview with BT Sport.

Ten Hag was adamant a referee at European level should not be making such a mistake, comments which could land him in hot water with UEFA.

Check out the interview in which he let rip at the officials here...

Video: Ten Hag's fiery interview after Barcelona 2-2 Man Utd

“We had a lot of character and determination in this team," Ten Hag said. “The belief that we had to score the first goal, the meaning of scoring the first goal, is so important, and that’s what we didn’t do.

“We turn it around when we were down, and then also I think the refereeing had a big influence in this game. I think it was a clear foul on Rashy, you can discuss if it’s in or outside the box."

Ten Hag was then told the incident occurred outside the penalty area, to which he replied: “Okay, then it was a red card because he was one-on-one with the goalkeeper so it was a big influence, not only on this game, but in this round.

“A referee can’t make such a mistake.”

Sadly for Ten Hag, there's nothing he can do now and Kounde will be free to play in the second leg at Old Trafford next week.

One key Barcelona player who will be suspended, though, is Gavi following his latest yellow card, while Pedri is also set to miss the match in Manchester after picking up a muscle injury on Thursday evening.