Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsi speaks on referee controversy – “I still don’t know why”

Barcelona’s dressing room is still digesting a bruising week that saw the club humbled 4-0 at Atlético Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final before slipping to a 2-1 league defeat at Girona, results that leave the Catalans two points behind Real Madrid in La Liga and on the brink of elimination from the cup.

Central defender Pau Cubarsi, 19, fronted the media after the double setback and offered a candid assessment of where things went wrong. Speaking to MD, the teenager pinpointed the early concession at the Metropolitano as the moment the tie swung decisively in Atlético’s favour.

“I think that in the first half they started with a lot of intensity and when they scored that early goal they disrupted our plans,” Cubarsi said. “From then on, it was very difficult for us to be the better team in the match.”

The defender’s most pointed comments, however, centred on the VAR intervention that denied him a 74th-minute consolation. After a review lasting more than eight minutes, his close-range finish was ruled out for offside, leaving the scoreboard locked at 4-0 and the stadium in limbo.

“I still don’t know why my goal was disallowed at the Metropolitano, but I do know that the pause of almost 10 minutes cut off our momentum,” Cubarsi said. “That goal would have allowed us to face the rest of the game with real possibilities to get closer to the result.”

Despite the daunting deficit, the youngster insisted the tie is not over. “We are a group that has already shown that we believe in comebacks and we have carried them out. We are going to try again with all our strength and with the support of our people who never fail us.”

Three days later Cubarsi did find the net again, heading home against Girona at Montilivi, yet Barcelona still fell 2-1. The centre-back did not hide his frustration.

“We have to improve. They can’t score these two goals against us. We played a bad game, we lacked a little bit of everything. We have to be self-critical and get our act together.”

With the return leg against Atlético looming and a title race tightening, Barcelona’s youngest defensive stalwart has issued a rallying cry: learn quickly, or risk watching the season unravel.