‘It was a foul’ - Garcia baffled Girona’s winner allowed to stand

Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia has voiced his disbelief after Girona’s 88th-minute decider was permitted to stand in Monday night’s 2-1 defeat at Estadi Montilivi, insisting a clear foul on defender Jules Koundé in the build-up should have invalidated Fran Beltran’s strike.

Speaking to reporters after the final whistle, Garcia admitted he had not appreciated the flashpoint in real time, but a subsequent replay left him in no doubt. “I didn’t see Koundé’s play clearly live,” he said. “Then I saw the replay and for me it was a foul. Jules got to the ball first. I think it was a foul. What’s surprising is that they didn’t call the VAR official.”

The 23-year-old stopper stopped short of blaming on-field refereeing alone, accepting that mistakes occur, yet he questioned the protocol that allowed play to continue unchecked. “The referee can make mistakes. It’s surprising that they didn’t even call the official VAR official to review it on a screen. These things happen. We can’t control it, so we have to move on.”

Beyond the controversy, Garcia turned his focus to a defensive record that has become a growing concern. Barcelona have now conceded twice or more in consecutive league outings, and the keeper believes the squad must use an upcoming free midweek to reset. “I think we need to improve. We concede too much, too easily. We need to analyze. We have a week without a midweek match. That will give us time to analyze things properly and work on them. With a cool head, we’ll try to improve.”

He also highlighted tactical tweaks that have shown promise, particularly in the first phase of pressure. “It looks a bit better from behind. We press well from a standing position. When we lose, we need to cut off plays and commit fouls in the opponent’s half. They commit fouls against us.”

Sunday’s visit of Levante to the Catalan capital now looms as an opportunity to arrest the slide before the international break. Garcia and his teammates will hope that, this time, the talking points are confined to their performance rather than another late VAR flashpoint.