After a lot of controversy surrounding the matches between "Barcelona" and Madrid's "Atletico," Goal decided to recall other notoriously infamous matches of the Catalan team in Europe. It was these kinds of games that forced critics of "Barca" to call them UEFA favorites, and from that arose the nickname assigned to the club - "Uefalona." Here are ten European matches that received the most attention and criticism for favorable decisions by referees in favor of "Barcelona." "Barcelona" 3 - 0 "Gothenburg" (1986) The Catalan hopes to win their first European Cup seemed doomed to die - in the first leg of the semifinals, they were even losing 0-3 to the Swedish team. However, returning to the "Camp Nou" stadium, Pichi Alonso scored a hat-trick and extended the penalty shootout, where "Barca" triumphed 5-4 and reached the final in Seville. However, this is only one side of the story - "Gothenburg" showed their dissatisfaction after the match because two legitimate Swedish goals were not counted when the score was still 1-0. The second incident was particularly shocking since the referee initially counted the goal, but after aggressive protests by the "Barca" players, he decided to change his decision and disallow the goal. "Barcelona" 2 - 1 "Chelsea" (2005) The first unpleasantly memorable episode of the clash between these teams took place in the first leg of the 2005 Champions League, where Didier Drogba was sent off for a seemingly accidental action against Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes. At that time, "Chelsea" was leading 1-0, but the depleted team conceded goals to Maxi Lopez and Samuel Eto'o at the end of the match and lost at the opponent's stronghold. The drama after these matches did not fade away easily, and Jose Mourinho accused the referee Anders Frisk of favoring Barcelona. "When I saw Rijkaard (then Barcelona coach) entering the referee's room, I couldn't believe it. But when Didier Drogba was sent off, I wasn't surprised," said the "Blues" coach after the match. Episode video "Chelsea" 1 - 2 "Barcelona" (2006) A year after the "Blues" lost to "Barca" with an aggregate score of 4-2, the teams faced each other again in the quarterfinals. "Barcelona" once again won the tie with a 3-2 aggregate score, but there was still no shortage of confrontation in this match. In the match at Stamford Bridge, the result was still level at 0-0 when Asier Del Horno was shown a red card for a foul on Lionel Messi. Although there were many debates about the contact's intensity, Chelsea manager Mourinho was convinced - Messi exaggerated. "Barcelona" is a cultural city with many good theaters, and this boy learned well from them: he learned to act in the game," said the Portuguese coach after the match. "Barcelona" 2 - 1 "Arsenal" (2006) In the 2006 Champions League final, only 18 minutes had passed when Jens Lehmann brought down Samuel Eto'o outside the penalty area. Although Ludovic Giuly sent the ball into the net, the referee decided not to allow the goal and awarded a penalty kick, also sending off Arsenal goalkeeper. The "Gunners" later took the lead in this match in Paris after Sol Campbell's goal, but the substitution of Henrik Larsson into the field sparked "Barca's" comeback, and goals from Eto'o and Juliano Belletti brought victory and the trophy to the Catalans. "I'm sorry, but some of the referee's decisions were just terrible," said Arsenal star Thierry Henry after the match. "Chelsea" 1 - 1 "Barcelona" (2009) During the 2009 Champions League semifinals, the "Blues" protested four times at Stamford Bridge about a possible penalty kick into the opponent's goal. Incredibly, the referee Tomas Henning Ovrebo did not award a penalty kick even when Gerard Pique played the ball with his hand. It was probably not surprising that after Andres Iniesta scored a goal in extra time and led Barcelona to the final, the Chelsea players erupted. "This is just a ******* disgrace," said Drogba, clearly angry and using curse words after the match. Watching the footage of these matches, one can understand why the striker could not control his emotions. "Barcelona" 1 - 0 "Inter" (2010) It is worth mentioning that in the return leg of this series, a completely legitimate goal was taken away from the Catalans when Yaya Toure unintentionally handled the ball. However, "Inter" is convinced that if Thiago Motta had not received a red card, "Barca" would not have salvaged a late goal in the second-leg match. Motta was sent off for a hand gesture barely touching Sergio Busquets. "He always does that. It's despicable behavior," Mourinho said about Busquets' acting after the match. And this time he was not mistaken - the television cameras caught Busquets peeking between fingers at the match referee, trying to see if his acting had worked. Nevertheless, "Inter" still eliminated "Barcelona" by winning the series 3-2. "Barcelona" 3 - 1 "Arsenal" (2011) Although many have forgotten, in the 2011 Champions League quarterfinals, "Arsenal" almost eliminated "Barca" from the competition. After winning the first leg at home 2-1, they failed to make a single shot on goal away, but had serious arguments with the referee. After Busquets scored an own goal, "Arsenal" were in the lead in the series, but then Robin van Persie received a second yellow card for shooting towards the opponent's goal after the referee's whistle. Ultimately, Barcelona capitalized on their numerical advantage, and goals from Messi and Xavi helped them reach the next stage. After the match, "Arsenal" did not hide their anger - the Dutchman said he did not hear the whistle and called the sending-off "ridiculous," while "Arsenal" manager Arsene Wenger described the episode as "shameful." "Real" 0 - 2 "Barcelona" (2011) Although this Champions League semifinal is better remembered for Messi's superb second goal, Mourinho had already spoken before the match about how referees help their opponents. During this match, the Real Madrid coach was sent to the stands after sarcastically praising the referees for showing a red card to Pepe for a foul on Dani Alves. "I would have been ashamed to win that title in 2009 because it was won after the scandal at the 'Stamford Bridge' stadium. This time they will win the title after the scandal at the 'Santiago Bernabeu.' I hope one day they will win the Champions League title without any scandal," Mourinho said after the match. "Barcelona" 3 - 1 "Milan" (2012) After the goalless draw at the "San Siro" stadium, Antonio Nocerino equalized in the 32nd minute, which meant "Milan" would advance to the next stage due to the away goal. However, with just four minutes left until halftime, a second penalty kick was awarded to "Milan" - this time for Alessandro Nesta's minor grab on Busquets, despite the ball not being back in play according to the Italian team's belief. Messi scored the penalty, and Iniesta scored another goal after halftime, allowing the Catalans to reach the semifinals. "It seems like UEFA wants these two teams ('Real' and 'Barcelona') to reach the Champions League final," observed Zlatan Ibrahimovic after the match. "Barcelona" 2 - 1 "Atletico" (2016) After conceding a goal from Torres in the 25th minute of last week's match at the "Camp Nou" stadium, the Catalans faced serious problems in the Champions League quarterfinals. However, the Spaniard received two yellow cards and was sent off the pitch before halftime. The red card changed the match, and Luis Suarez's brace in the second half allowed "Barcelona" to secure victory. However, "Atletico" was not only upset by the referee's decision to send off Torres but also by the fact that Suarez did not receive a red card for pushing Juanfran in the first half. "Barcelona" is protected. When you play against them, you understand that they are a very influential club," said Filipe Luis after the match.
