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Flick’s reason for outrage against the assistant referee during Mallorca 1-5 Barcelona

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick is far from fond of the custom in Spanish football that allows play to continue despite the assistant referee being aware of a clear offside. This practice deeply irritates him, even considering his usually calm demeanour.

It is not the first time we have seen the German coach express frustration over the unnecessary extra distance his players have to run when such situations arise.

And, as reported by SPORT, during the clash against Mallorca on Tuesday, the Barcelona head coach found himself in another battle with the assistant referees.

Unhappy with the linesman

Yesterday, Flick’s primary focus was on one man: Angel Nevado Rodriguez. This was the assistant referee positioned on the sideline where Flick was situated during the first half at Son Moix.

As the game progressed and offside decisions continued to pile up, the Barça manager’s irritation towards the assistant referee grew.

Mallorca were flagged offside 11 times in the match, making it the La Liga game with the most offside decisions this season, only behind El Clasico.

A significant number of those occurred in the first half, many of them by several metres, further frustrating Flick as his Barcelona players were forced to unnecessarily exhaust themselves chasing back.

Flick was unhappy with the linesman during Mallorca vs Barça. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

His gestures were visible, with the coach expressing his discontent clearly. His anger was only worsened when Mallorca’s Vedat Muriqi scored, as it provided another moment where his players’ defensive lapses were exposed, adding fuel to his frustration.

Lack of understanding

When asked about the issue in the press room by SPORT, Flick elaborated on his perspective, saying:

“I do not care about the number of offsides Mallorca committed. I never look at the statistics. What I do not understand is that there are situations where the offside is clear by five metres, and my players have to run back, exhausting themselves for no reason. It makes no sense.”

He continued: “I understand letting play go on when there is doubt, but if it is clear, it does not make sense to me. I cannot understand it.”

This has been a consistent frustration for Flick since his arrival at Barcelona, with the manager ushering in a significant change in the style of play typically seen at the club, one that carries a much higher risk.

While coaches like Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique also advocated for high pressing, Flick’s strategy of consistently positioning the defensive line as high as he does is unprecedented.

As a result, Barcelona have been setting new records, both for the number of offside decisions they are involved in and the number of goals that are being chalked off as a result.

Naturally, Flick is bound to get frustrated when linesmen let play continue even for the most obvious offside calls, leading to added workload on his players.

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