Fans of the Spanish team are sure that Gerard Martin was fouled in the lead-up to Francesco Acerbi’s equaliser, which sent Barcelona’s Champions League semi-final into a half-hour extra-time session. This dispute surrounded Barcelona’s two-leg, wild match against Inter Milan.
The two teams made sure to provide another feast of goals and entertainment in Italy after seeing a six-goal thriller (3-3) in Spain a week earlier. Acerbi’s goal, his first on the European scene, threw the home crowd into a frenzy.
After leading 2-0 at the break, Simone Inzaghi’s team took control of the match for the first time in both legs thanks to three goals from La Blaugrana. That was before the seasoned centre defender took over, but naturally, uproar ensued.
Barcelona fans regret the referee’s ruling.
“All I wanted was a game free from referee influence.”
Barcelona, under the leadership of Hansi Flick, had one foot in the Allianz Arena-based final of Europe’s top championship this season as regulation time crept into the last seconds of second-half stoppage time with the score tied 3-2 to the Spaniards.
Martin intercepted a ball during Inter’s offensive play, which may have been caused by their slack play in the closing minutes of the match. Martin went to the ground after the two collided as Denzel Dumfries, who is linked to Manchester United, attempted to regain possession of the ball. View the video below:
Dumfries, who had five goal involvements in the two semi-final matches, crossed the ball to Acerbi, who put his close-range shot past Wojciech Szczesny, although Barcelona’s young defence claimed a foul and was left on the deck.
However, supporters of Camp Nou are baffled as to why Inter, who are presently in second place behind Napoli in the Serie A title battle this season, were not pulled up before they managed to score a late equaliser. A ‘clear foul on Martin’ was pressed upon by one, who said:
“Martin had a clear foul, but it wasn’t granted. All I wanted was a game free from referee influence, but naturally, it was asking for too much.
“GERARD MARTIN DID NOT HAVE A SINGLE REPLAY OF THE FOUL.” Another person questioned why Amazon Prime did not present a replay of the incident, saying, “UEFA MAFIA.” “Why isn’t there a single proper replay of that foul on Martin?” said a third fan, echoing the previous one.
How can Gerard Martin not have a foul? This referee is an embarrassment.
Although it’s hard to tell from the video how much contact there was between Dumfries and Martin, veteran referee Szymon Marciniak and the VAR officials felt that the Dutchman didn’t do anything inappropriate or out of character during the final seconds of regulation time.
It also proved crucial as the Nerazzurri won 4–3 that evening and secured a spot in the final, which will take place in Munich, Germany. Davide Frattesi, a substitute, scored the game-winning goal in the 99th minute, making it one of the most memorable nights in the history of the Champions League.
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