Barcelona President Laporta hits out at Inter 4-3 Barcelona refereeing decisions | OneFootball

Barcelona President Joan Laporta says that Barcelona are out of the Champions League ‘basically because of refereeing decisions that went against us’ after the 4-3 thriller in the second leg of the semi that sent Inter through to the final on Tuesday night.

Simone Inzaghi and the Nerazzurri claimed a place in the Champions League final with a 7-6 aggregate victory over Barcelona, claiming a 4-3 win in extra time in San Siro on Tuesday night to seal the tie.

Inter went 2-0 up on Tuesday night via a Hakan Calhanoglu penalty, which required a lengthy VAR intervention before the spot kick was awarded, while Barcelona felt they should have been given a penalty themselves after claims of a Francesco Acerbi handball in the area in the first half.

MILAN, ITALY – MAY 06: Lautaro Martinez of FC Internazionale is challenged by Pau Cubarsi of FC Barcelona which results in referee Szymon Marciniak (not pictured) awarding a penalty to FC Internazionale during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Semi Final Second Leg match between FC Internazionale Milano and FC Barcelona at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on May 06, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Both of these decisions have caused upset among the Barcelona supporter base. Laporta also believes that these calls had an impact on the final result of the semi-final tie.

What Laporta said about Inter-Barcelona refereeing decisions

Speaking on the official Barcelona website in the aftermath of their Champions League elimination against Inter, Laporta said: “It wasn’t to be yesterday, we fought to reach the final in Munich, but it didn’t happen, basically because of refereeing decisions that went against us, but that has to make us stronger so that we have the mentality needed to win LaLiga.

“It’s a very tough moment after yesterday’s defeat. Like I said, it was within reach, but it wasn’t to be. We fought to make it happen, but we couldn’t.”