Eric Garcia has slammed the VAR officials after Barcelona‘s Champions League exit against Inter Milan in the semifinals on Tuesday, May 6. He believes that the Catalan side were the better team and should be proud of their performance this season.
Speaking to the media, Garcia took shots at Dennis Hingler and Pol van Boekel for not making the right calls. He added that he has played at San Siro thrice and the matches have never gone their way. The former Manchester City defender said (via @barcacentre on X):
Barcelona were knocked out by Inter Milan with a stunning 7-6 aggregate score over the two legs. Inter secured a 4-3 win in the second leg at the San Siro thanks to a Davide Frattesi winner in extra time.
Former Barca manager Xavi was furious with the referee and VAR officials after his side’s 1-0 loss against Inter Milan at the San Siro in October 2022. He believed that the Catalan side were denied two clear penalties by VAR in their group stage defeat. He said (via ESPN):
Hakan Calhanoglu scored the lone goal of the match in 2022 before Barcelona had a goal ruled out for handball. They were also denied a late penalty after an alleged handball by Denzel Dumfries, who played a key role in the match on Tuesday at San Siro.
Sripad has been a Chelsea fan through and through since the age of 9 and can watch their 2012 Champions League triumph on repeat. The undisputed ‘GOAT’ according to him is Lionel Messi and his favorite managers are Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson. Apart from popular European leagues, he also likes to follow other leagues like the MLS, Saudi Pro League, Eredivisie, and Liga MX.
Sripad believes in only using the right sources for his articles, and is an expert in understanding how to get the right quotes for each news to provide proper background information. His exploits have led him to become a popular figure in European Football and interviewing Premier League legends such as Alan Shearer, Shay Given, Paul Dickov, and John Barnes. His articles have been much revered amongst the football fraternity and have been shared by the likes of John Terry, Gary Lineker, and Declan Rice.
If given a chance to change a football rule, Sripad wants VAR to be fully automated and offside rules to be less stringent. When not working, he likes to watch past Formula 1 races and play FIFA.
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