Frenkie de Jong has criticized referee Jesus Gil Manzano’s attitude in Barcelona’s 2-1 defeat to Real Sociedad in Sunday night’s Spanish La Liga match.
Despite dominating the encounter, the Catalan giant’s 11-match winning run was ended at the Anoeta Stadium, while their lead at the top was cut to just a single point to Real Madrid, who defeated Levante 2-0 a day earlier.
The Spanish champions were infuriated by major decisions in the first half, with Fermin Lopez and Lamine Yamal seeing strikes ruled out for foul and offside respectively.
“If it’s given offside, it’s offside,” De Jong said after the match, making reference to Yamal’s first half strike.
“I have not seen it, but they have told us it’s not offside. But what I want to say is that you can’t even speak to the referee. I don’t understand it at all. And I am the captain.
“I tried to talk to him and he looks at me with a face like he is better than me. It’s very frustrating. You can’t behave like that.”
Barcelona struck the woodwork four times in the clash and had three goals ruled out in the disappointing defeat.
Marcus Rashford scored their only goal of the match, which also saw Joao Cancelo make his second debut for the club.
“In added time, I was saying to the referee to watch the time, [Sociedad] were taking one minute for throw ins, goal kicks etc, which is normal, of course, but to not add even 10 seconds more seems crazy to me,” the Dutchman added.
“And I said that to the referee and he booked me, so you can’t speak to this referee.”
Barcelona turn their attention to UEFA Champions League, where they face Slavia Prague on Wednesday.
Olakitan is a young writer with a strong passion for sports, having gained experience with IndyPress and Nimelssa Press. His enthusiasm for sports inspired him to cover events both within his school and beyond. With a deep understanding of the game and a refined skillset, he brings sports coverage to a broad, global audience in a way that’s engaging and accessible.
