A single card for Barcelona opens fire: Atletico accuse the referee of double standards

Do you agree?

Atlético Madrid's players admitted Barcelona deserved their 2-1 win at the Metropolitano, but discontent still ran through the Madrid dressing room over Javier Alberola Rojas and his handling of the game. They felt he was inconsistent with fouls and protests, particularly in the first half.

According to Spanish newspaper "Mundo Deportivo", Atlético's players refused to hide behind the referee as an excuse for the defeat. Behind closed doors, though, they voiced reservations about what they called double standards in awarding fouls and showing yellow cards, convinced Barcelona's players had escaped punishment in several situations.

Diego Simeone offered no excuses either. The Atlético head coach called the result fair, pointing to Barcelona scoring twice to his side's one.

Koke put the defeat down to a lack of attacking cutting edge. Baena warned that the team would not meet its targets without producing its best football on the pitch.

Still, the refereeing complaints lingered in the players' conversations. Chief among them was Alberola Rojas showing only one yellow card to a Barcelona player in the first half, despite incidents the Atlético players reckoned deserved a booking.

Those incidents included Raphinha's challenge on Koke, some instances of holding, and the protests from Barcelona's players that Atlético felt the referee waved away far too leniently.

Both teams committed 14 fouls each, yet Atlético picked up three yellow cards to Barcelona's one. That gap only deepened the Madrid players' sense that the discipline had not been applied evenly.