Hansi Flick incensed by the refereeing during Atletico Madrid 0-4 Barcelona

Riyadh Air Metropolitano, Saudi Arabia — Hansi Flick’s Thursday night unravelled in two distinct waves: a 4-0 humbling at the hands of Atletico Madrid and a simmering sense of injustice that, in his mind, turned a difficult evening into something far more galling. While the German coach did not spare his players a public dressing-down for a limp first-half display, sources close to the Barça bench say it was the officiating, not the scoreline alone, that left him fuming long after the final whistle.

The flash-point arrived three minutes after the restart. Pau Cubarsi appeared to have dragged Barcelona back into contention, slotting home a goal that Flick, watching from the touchline, instantly deemed legal. The coach’s curt fist-pump betrayed his belief that the strike could tilt momentum. Instead, a seven-minute VAR intervention ended with the goal scrubbed for offside. From Flick’s vantage point the decision was at best marginal, at worst incomprehensible; either way, the prolonged delay shattered the renewed intensity Barcelona had brought out of the dressing room.

The frustration only deepened when, moments earlier, Giuliano Simeone had escaped with a caution for a studs-up lunge on Alejandro Balde. Flick was adamant the challenge merited a straight red, and the perceived leniency contrasted sharply with the forensic examination that denied Cubarsi his goal.

At full-time the 58-year-old sought answers. After offering a measured critique of his squad’s performance in the press room, Flick tracked down the match officials for a terse exchange, demanding clarity on both the disallowed goal and the Simeone incident. None was forthcoming, leaving the Barcelona camp to depart Riyadh with a four-goal deficit and a grievance they insist altered the complexion of the contest.

Barcelona now head home with more than a bruised scoreline to ponder; they carry a coach convinced that key decisions, rather than merely poor play, shaped their heaviest defeat of the campaign.