Barcelona veteran refuses to blame referee for 4-3 loss vs Inter – ‘No need to make excuses’ | OneFootball

Barcelona’s treble dreams came crashing down last night as Inter Milan defeated them 4-3 after extra time in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final, sending them out of the tournament.

It was yet another tightly-contested affair after the first leg that had ended in a 3-3 draw and after the result, there has been a lot of criticism aimed at referee Szymon Marciniak from the Barça camp.

Wojciech Szczesny refuses to use referee excuse

However, speaking to the media after the game, Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny refused to blame the referee and his decisions for his team coming up short on the night.

“I know that in case of defeat people often talk about the referee’s performance, but I’m not going to dwell on that. There is no need to make excuses. There will be comments, but it’s not worth going down that road,” he said, as quoted by SPORT.

Szczesny addressed the penalty given for a foul by Pau Cubarsi on Lautaro Martinez, after VAR intervention, saying:

“I was close and I honestly thought there was no penalty either way, but apparently it seems that Pau didn’t touch the ball so a penalty was called. It’s a quick action and it was decided that way. There is nothing more to say.”

Cubarsi’s challenge on Inigo that resulted in a penalty. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

The goalkeeper admitted his frustration at being knocked out of the competition, saying the team had the Champions League within reach, but he also looked ahead with optimism.

“We played our football all the time and I think we deserved it. It’s a shame because we had it so close and it got away. More than angry, I’m proud of these guys who are very young and at the beginning of their careers,” stated Szczesny.

“They have all shown that they are sure to win this trophy several more times. It’s sad now, but it’s not the end of the world because they have a bright future ahead of them,” he added.

Szczesny also made it clear that this defeat must not affect the squad heading into the upcoming league match against Real Madrid.

“I suppose there is no need to motivate anyone for the most important game of the season, the one that could decide the Spanish championship,” he said.

“I believe this team will recover mentally and physically enough to play at the highest level on Sunday, win the Clasico and practically seal the championship,” Szczesny concluded.