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The Barcelona media blamed the main city club for the failure in the Champions League round of 16 match against London's "Arsenal". The blame was placed on the referee. However, other publications did not hesitate to criticize the Spanish champions.
Both "Sport" and "El Mundo Deportivo" noted that the referees did not count Lionel Messi's goal incorrectly ruling it offside, and also did not award any penalties.
In a rather sensational headline "Mourinho’s friend whistled against Barcelona", the newspaper "Sport" also announced that the referee Nicola Rizzoli is associated with the coach of Real Madrid, the fiercest rival of the Catalans, Jose Mourinho.
This statement is supported by recalling one of Rizzoli's decisions in 2009, which favored the specialist from Portugal.
"El Mundo Deportivo" did not question the neutrality of the referees, but wrote: "The referee gave life to the Arsenal - Barcelona match". In the journalists' opinion, without the referee's help, the intrigue in the pair would not have remained after the first match.
Meanwhile, AS commentator Santi Gimenez wrote: "Barca had the ball, but not the spirit typical of injured teams. And the injured Englishman is very dangerous, he knows how to fight and retaliate. Finally, this strength overshadowed technical skills. Until the 65th minute, Barcelona knew how to play technically, but then Arsenal proved the importance of courage."
"El Pais" added: "Wenger's boys are better footballers, they probably no longer feel respect for the Barcelona team, which yesterday had no ambitions and was vulnerable."
