Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong has broken his silence following his team’s heartbreaking exit from the UEFA Champions League at the hands of Inter Milan. The match, which went into extra time, ended in a painful defeat for Barcelona, eliminating them at the semi-final stage. De Jong expressed his intense frustration over the result and raised serious concerns about the quality and fairness of officiating during the crucial moments of the game.
In a post-match interview, De Jong shared his emotional reaction:
> “I’m incredibly disappointed. Honestly, I’m still trying to process everything. From our perspective, the outcome feels extremely unjust. It’s difficult to find the right words right now because it feels like we were robbed. But at the moment, there’s not much else to say.”
However, the Dutch midfielder did not stop there. He went on to openly criticize the legitimacy of the decisive goal scored by Inter’s Francesco Acerbi in extra time—insisting that the goal should not have counted.
> “Acerbi’s goal should have been disallowed. There was an obvious foul committed by Denzel Dumfries just before it. What’s most troubling is that the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) didn’t even review the incident. It’s bizarre, honestly. The mistake is glaringly obvious, and it’s hard to understand how it was overlooked.”
(Statement via BeIN Sports MENA)
The Controversial Moment:
Acerbi scored the winning goal in extra time, securing Inter Milan’s place in the final.
Just before the goal, Dumfries appeared to push a Barcelona player in the penalty area.
Despite the apparent foul, the VAR system did not intervene or review the play, triggering widespread frustration among Barcelona players and supporters.
Summary of Key Issues:
Frenkie de Jong feels deeply betrayed and disillusioned by the refereeing decisions, particularly by UEFA’s failure to properly implement VAR in a critical moment.
The absence of a VAR review during such a pivotal event has reignited debates about the consistency and transparency of officiating in top-level football.
What was meant to be an epic and memorable semi-final clash instead ended under a cloud of controversy, disappointment, and allegations of possible bias.
